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Clearwater girl's antismoking cartoon is heartfelt

By Theresa Blackwell, Times Staff Writer
In print: Sunday, July 6, 2008

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OLDSMAR — Rachel Sbrissa of Clearwater, 16, has been against smoking for as long as she can remember.

At 3 or 4, she told a man on a bus that he shouldn't be smoking.

"He was pretty polite about it," she said. "I don't know if it changed anything."

Rachel's latest campaign against smoking uses more humor, her artistic skills and a knack for verbal communication.

Last week, her cartoon video on why she doesn't smoke won a video contest sponsored by Tobacco Free Florida, a Florida Department of Health initiative, and YouTube.

Rachel won first place out of 150 Florida entries and received a much-needed new iMac and an iPod.

The late Lee Page of Dunedin, Rachel's grandmother, was the inspiration for the video. Page, who died a few weeks ago, was in chemotherapy and radiation for cancer while Rachel was creating her entry.

"The winning video touched on all the important reasons why Floridians shouldn't smoke, while showing how relevant tobacco prevention is to the lives of youth today," said Donna Aftuck, the Department of Health's marketing coordinator and one of the judges.

Sbrissa's video and the other top 25 winners will be shown on a new statewide on-demand channel devoted exclusively to the no-smoking campaign. It will reach more than 2-million subscribers to Comcast and Bright House Networks Digital Cable.

A cartoon self-portrait of Rachel, with one eye bigger than the other, looks out to the audience and expresses Rachel's feelings about smoking, saying:

"Am I the only one who hates secondhand smoke?"

"Have you ever tried kissing someone with tobacco breath?"

Stick figures and interesting sound effects help illustrate the reasons why Rachel does not smoke.

• Smoke smells and pollutes the air.

• Smoke causes lung cancer, bad breath, and yellow fingers and teeth.

• Smoking is a waste of time and money.

"I'm Rachel Sbrissa from Tampa Bay and I don't smoke," she says at the end of the video, "because I only get one life and I'd rather live it long and well-fulfilled."

If her past is any indication, Rachel's future will be full of creative pursuits.

She lives in Clearwater with her mother, Teri Sbrissa, and sister Bekah Sbrissa, 14. Her father, David Sbrissa, also lives in the Tampa Bay area.

For all but second grade, Rachel has gone to school at home and is taught by her mother. Rachel, her sister and their mom share a love of humor.

"Our family motto is 'Weird is relative,'" Rachel said.

New friends who visit must pass a rite of initiation: watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Monty Python and Tim Burton are big family influences.

In the future, Rachel plans to dye her recently highlighted brown hair purple, finish high school and get her GED, learn to read music, play piano and form a band. She sings and writes songs.

Don't let the Goth attire and makeup she sports in her Facebook picture intimidate you. She claims to be a bit of a rebel, but says her favorite activities are "Anything fun that does NOT involve drugs, alcohol or cigarettes."

Theresa Blackwell can be reached at tblackwell@sptimes.com or (727) 445-4170.