The Tobacco Free School Policy Initiative assists middle and high schools to promote and implement a "tobacco- free environment" through the development, communication and enforcement of a comprehensive tobacco-free school policy. School Policy Coordinators provide schools and districts with technical assistance and free resources and tools to accomplish this task. Schools play a key role in creating attitude and behavioral change among students, families and members of the community. By creating an environment that supports and promotes tobacco free values and behaviors, schools can be leaders in the fight for tobacco free lifestyles for youth and adults.
Why Policy, Why Tobacco?
Developing and enforcing a tobacco-free policy in schools is the number one strategy in reducing teen smoking (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Tobacco use in school buildings and on school grounds is prohibited by state and federal laws (Pro-Kids Act, SED & Public Health Law)
- Students who attend schools with tobacco free policies that are enforced are less likely to use tobacco (American Journal of Public Health)
- There is a strong link between teen tobacco use and other risky behaviors, lower academic performance, and poor school attendance (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- 90% of adult smokers began in their teens and nearly 2/3 became daily smokers before age 19 (Tobacco-Free Kids, 2006)
- Tobacco free policy prepares students for tobacco free workplaces and communities
Benefits for Your School:
- Trained Tobacco Policy Coordinator to assist your school
- Technical assistance in the development of a comprehensive tobacco-free policy, including sample policies
- Strategies and assistance to implement policy initiatives
- Resources to communicate the policy to students, staff, parents, and community
- Access to cessation and alternative-to suspension training and resources
- Support with developing proactive enforcement
- Signage for your school buildings and grounds
- Tools for needs assessment and data collection to evaluate and assess progress
Did You Know?
- $8 billion/year in NYS tax dollars are spent to treat tobacco-related diseases (Tobacco-Free Kids, 2006)
- Tobacco industry documents call our youth: "replacement smokers"
- 34.8 million packs of cigarettes per year are bought or smoked by kids in NYS (Tobacco-Free Kids, 2006)
- Spit tobacco can cause oral cancers within 5 years of regular use (Tobacco-Free Kids, 2006)
Working together as a community we can make a difference
- Since NYS Tobacco Control Program began in 2000, high school student smoking dropped from 27% to 16.2% by 2006 (Tobacco-Free Kids, 2006)
- In 2005 35,000 NYS youth became smokers; in 2006 that amount decreased to 24,900 (Tobacco-Free Kids, 2006)
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Ten Good Reasons to Have 100% Tobacco Free School Policy
1. PROVIDES POSITIVE ADULT ROLE MODELS FOR STUDENTS. Over 40% of students in New York report seeing adults smoking on campus. A 100% tobacco-free policy represents a firm commitment by the school to prohibit tobacco use and provides positive role models for students.
2. PROTECTS CHILDREN FROM DEVELOPING AN ADDICTION TO TOBACCO. Ninety percent of adult smokers began in their teens and nearly two-thirds become daily smokers before the age of 19. Tobacco kills over 25,000 people in New York every year. Students who attend schools with tobacco-free policies that are enforced are less likely to use tobacco.
3. PROVIDES A HEALTHIER ENVIRONMENT BY REDUCING EXPOSURE TO SECONDHAND TOBACCO SMOKE. Exposure to secondhand smoke irritates the lungs, eyes, and nasal passages, causes lung cancer and heart disease, and in children, increased ear infections, colds, coughs, asthma and asthma symptoms contributing to increased absenteeism. Exposure to secondhand smoke also impairs a child's ability to learn, putting them at increased risk for difficulties with reading and math.
4. REINFORCES AND SUPPORTS INSTRUCTION IN THE CLASSROOM AND OTHER PROGRAMS. Students are taught about the hazards of tobacco use, how to resist using it, and they are subject to the extracurricular codes on tobacco use and possession. Allowing adults to use tobacco on school grounds sends a conflicting message to students about tobacco use.
5. CHANGES THE NORMS REGARDING TOBACCO USE. People tend to act in accordance with group expectations and behaviors. Adopting a Tobacco-Free School Policy reinforces current norms where eight out of ten people in New York don’t smoke and over 70% of adults support smoke-free policies.
6. COUNTERACTS THE TARGETING OF CHILDREN BY THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY. The tobacco industry is losing millions of customers who are dying or becoming disabled from tobacco use. They need new users. Internal industry documents indicate that tobacco companies have purposefully marketed to children as young as 14.
7. COMPLIES WITH LAWS PROHIBITING SMOKING IN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. State and Federal laws prohibit tobacco use and or smoking in school buildings, grounds, and vehicles.
8. PREPARES STUDENTS FOR TOBACCO-FREE WORKPLACES AND COMMUNITIES. With passage of the New York State Clean Indoor Air Act in 2003 and similar laws being passed in communities, states, and countries worldwide, tobacco-free worksites and communities are becoming the norm.
9. PROTECTS SCHOOLS FROM THE RISK OF FUTURE LIABILITY. Litigation related to exposure to secondhand smoke has been successful in recovering damages from employers who failed to provide a safe, smoke-free work environment. With the rise in the number of children with asthma this may be more cause for concern if symptoms are triggered when a child is exposed to tobacco smoke at school.
10. REDUCES THE RISK OF FIRES DUE TO SMOKING MATERIALS. Fires caused by smoking materials are the leading cause of fire deaths in the U.S. These materials tossed into trash cans and on the grounds put students and staff at increased risk of injury due to fire.
References for the Top Ten Reasons
1 New York State Department of Health. (2004). New York State Youth Tobacco Survey 2004. Albany, NY: Tobacco Control Program, New York State Department of Health. Unpublished data.
2 Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. (2005). Smoking and kids. Retrieved on March 1, 2006 from http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/.
3 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (1994). Preventing tobacco use among young people—a report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
4 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2002). Annual smoking-attributable mortality, years of potential life lost, and economic costs—United States, 1995-1999. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 51, 300-3.
5 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2005). Tobacco Control Highlights, State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation (STATE) System [Online]. Retrieved March 1, 2006 from http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/statesystem/.
6 Wakefield, M.A., Chaloupka, F.J., Kaufman, N.J., Orleans, T.C., Barker, D.C., & Ruel, E.E. (2000). Effect of restrictions on smoking at home, at school, and in public places on teenage smoking: cross sectional study. BMJ, 321, 333-337.
7 Pentz, M.A., Brannon, B.R., Charlin, V.L., Barrett, E.J., MacKinnon, D.P. & Flay, B.R. (1989). The power of policy: the relationship of smoking policy to adolescent smoking. American Journal of Public Health, 79,(7); 857-862.
8 Kumar, R., O’Malley, PM, & Johnston, LD. (2005). School tobacco control policies related to students’ smoking and attitudes toward smoking: national survey results, 1999-2000. Health Education & Behavior. 32(6),780-94.
9 Trinidad, DR, Gilpin, EA, & Pierce JP. (2005). Compliance and support for smoke-free school policies. Health Education Research,20(4),466-75.
10 North Carolina Tobacco Prevention Branch. Percentage of NC high school students reporting current tobacco use by 100% Tobacco Free School (TFS) policy status: North Carolina Youth Tobacco Survey, 2005. Retrieved May 3, 2006 from http://www.tobaccofreeschoolsnc.org/YTS-TFSChart.pdf.
11 National Cancer Institute. (1999). Health effects of exposure to environment tobacco smoke. Smoking and Tobacco Control Monograph No. 10. Bethesda, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (NIH Pub. No. 99-4645).
12 Yolton, K., Dietrich, K., Auinger, P., Lanphear, B.P., & Hornung, R. (2005). Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and cognitive abilities among U.S. children and adolescents. Environmental Health Perspectives, 113(1), 98-103.
13 Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7, 117-140.
14 Asch, S.E. (1951). Effects of group pressure on the modification and distortion of judgments. Guetzkow, H. (Ed.) Groups, Leadership and Men: Research in Human Relations. Pittsburgh, PA:
Carnegie Press.
15 RTI International. (2005). Independent Evaluation of New York’s Tobacco Control Program Final Report 2005. Research Triangle Park, NC: RTI International.
16 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2000). Reducing tobacco use: a report of the surgeon general. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.