Tobacco Education

1. Tobacco Education Guidelines and Resources

2. Reasons for Intervention Strategies • Smoking is the #1 most preventable health problem in America, accounting for 30% of all cancers & 30-40% of all CV diseases • Tobacco industries have lied about: nicotine addiction/marketing to kids [12+]. • Each day $13 million is spent to get 5,000 new smokers (most < 18 years old); 3000 will become addicted • 1/3 of smokers will die prematurely; second-hand smoke; smoking-pregnancy

3. CDC’s Guidelines for School Programs to Prevent Tobacco Use • Policy • Instruction • Curriculum • Training • Family involvement • Tobacco cessation efforts • Evaluation

4. Policy • Prohibit all tobacco use on school premises, in school vehicles, and at school functions. • Prohibit tobacco advertising (signs, clothing, in publications). • Require student instruction on avoiding tobacco use. • Help students who violate policies rather than punish.

5. Instruction • Program focus on decreasing social acceptability • Teaching resistance skills (from peers/media) • Assertiveness, goal setting, problem solving • Helping students understand why young people start and offer alternatives • Resources – CDC, ACS, ALA, NCI, AHA, etc.

6. Instruction • Programs that only discuss tobacco’s harmful effects/instill fear DO NOT prevent use (CDC). • Social influences, resistance programs significantly reduce adolescent smoking, but effects only last 1-3 years (Surgeon General, 1994).

7. Curriculum • Prevention education K-12. • DARE (ineffective) • Michigan model (good) • Quest: Skills for growing (good) • (Making the grade: A guide to school drug prevention programs, 1996. Telephone: 202-663-6090

8. Training • Provide program-specific teacher training

9. Family Involvement • Promote discussion at home about tobacco use by assigning homework and projects that involve families. • Encourage parents to participate in community efforts to prevent tobacco use and addiction.

10. Tobacco Cessation Efforts • Provide programs that help students/staff to quit rather than punishment. • (However, the Surgeon General [1994] reports that smoking cessation programs have low success rates [especially teen recruitment & retention rates] for formal programs.

11. Evaluation • Assess the tobacco-use prevention program at regular intervals. • Schools can use the: • CDC Guidelines for School Health Programs to Prevent Tobacco Use and Addition [available 770-488-3168], or; • Access the internet at: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dash. [Click on School Health Index & then • SHI for Middle and High Schools and then Resources for School Physical Activity, Healthy Eating, and Tobacco-Free Lifestyle

12. Educating Youth about Tobacco Ads • Classroom instruction. (CDC Guidelines, etc.) • Formal Programs/Materials: • CDC’s MediaSharp (for middle and high school): teacher’s guide, 7 min. video and activities. Available free by phone at: 770-488-5705. • CDC’s MTV Talks Tobacco (for middle and High School): Gabrielle Reece/”Real World”) 2-part video & discussion guide. Available free: MTV Talks Tobacco, Office of Smoking & Health, Mail Stop K-50, 4770 Buford Highway NE, Atlanta, GA 30341-3717. • MA dept. of Public Health: Smoke Screeners. Ed. program that teaches kids media literacy & critical analysis. Free at: http://www.fablevision.com/smokescreeners

13. Educating Youth about Tobacco Ads • Counteradvertising efforts: • CDC Media Campaign Resource Center provides info (MediaSharp, Media Campaign Resource Book, etc.) and direct technical assistance in all material development • Focus Group Review for Effectiveness • Assessing youth attitudes, beliefs, and effectiveness of ads (Peracchio & Luna, 1998). • Student Advocacy • E.g. SWAT, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids ($10 video/brochure, 1707 L. Street, NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20036 • Professional Deglamorization Ads: SWAT’s “Truth.com”

14. Drug Ed. Programs/Resources • DASA – Department of Alcoholism & Substance Abuse • IDASA – Illinois Department of Alcoholism & Substance Abuse (State affiliate of DASA). Provides full or partial funding for the following programs: • Prevention First/Prevention Resource Center. AV, books, posters, pamphlets, facts for all drugs and other health topics. • In-Touch programs. (Regional Offices, e.g. CEAD in Mattoon). Guest speakers [some $], peer training, pamphlets, programs [Operation Snowball], etc.

15. IDASA programs (cont.) • McGruff. Generally located in County Sheriff’s office. Drug prevention and safety information [I-Search, abduction, etc.] • DARE – Drug Abuse Resistance Education. Programs at elementary and secondary levels. Most commonly in 5th or 6th grade. A 15 week program taught in schools by a trained uniformed police officer. • IDOT – Il. Dept. of Transportation. Handouts, posters, BAL wheel, Convincer [Crash simulator program. 18+/EIU based out of Office of Safety Programs 217-582-2019.

16. Other Resources • American Cancer Society (ACS) • Posters, pamphlets, AV, pre-established curriculum, statistics, etc. [Pre-school, elementary, secondary, college, etc.] • American Lung Association (ALA) • Posters, pamphlets, AV, etc. [$ in bulk] • Illinois Department of Public Health – posters, pamphlets • Hospitals – ENCARE program, etc. • Distributors – posters, pamphlets, etc. • Insurance Companies • E.g. State Farm, Country Companies, etc. Pamphlets, AV, on-site programs, etc.

17. Other Resources (cont.) • Universities • Formal Programs: • Michigan Model • Quest • Here’s Looking at You 2010. • Lion’s Club Drug Prevention, etc. • For program quality check: • Making the Grade: A Guide to School Drug Prevention Programs 262-663-6090 • “Elements of a Good Drug Program”