Are Your Schools 100% Tobacco-Free? It’s World No Tobacco Day!

Scientific evidence has determined that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS). Exposure to SHS causes heart disease and lung cancer and increases the risk for sudden infant death syndrome, acute respiratory infections, middle-ear disease, asthma, respiratory symptoms, and slowed lung growth.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently published a report on the data collected from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS). The GYTS collected data on estimates of exposure to SHS at home and in places other than the home among students aged 13-15 years who had never smoked. Further, the study examined the association between exposure to SHS and susceptibility to initiating smoking. 747,603 students in approximately 10,000 schools from 137 jurisdictions worldwide (countries and territories) completed the survey during 2000-2007.

This study, among others, shows that having parents or friends who smoke increases the likelihood that a never smoker will initiate smoking. Exposure to SHS is a recognized factor associated with initiating smoking. The study found that 46.8% of youth who had never smoked were exposed to SHS at home. These youth were 1.4-2.1 times more likely to be susceptible to initiating smoking than their counterparts who were not exposed to SHS. In other places than home, 47.8% of student whom had never smoked were exposed to SHS. These youth were 1.3-1.8 times more likely to be susceptible to initiating smoking than their counterparts.

World No Tobacco Day, May 31, 2007, is sponsored annually by the World Health Organization (WHO) to call attention to the global health burden resulting from tobacco use. This year World No Tobacco Day focuses on the harmful effects of SHS and the promotion of smoke-free workplaces and public spaces. WHO recommends that countries enact and enforce legislation requiring all indoor workplaces and public places to be 100% smoke-free.

As schools are both workplaces and public places, we must remind ourselves of the importance of keeping them 100% tobacco-free. The CDC developed the Guidelines for School Health Programs to Prevent Tobacco Use and Addiction to help schools achieve health and education goals. To reduce exposure to SHS at schools, the CDC recommends that all schools prohibit smoking by students, staff, parents, and visitors on all school premises or in school vehicles at all school functions, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

For more information on World No Tobacco Day and the Global Youth Tobacco Survey:

Tobacco Free Initiative
WHO/Noncommunicable Disease and Mental Health
20 Avenue Appia
1211 Geneva 27
Switzerland
Telephone: +41 22 791 2126
Fax: + 41 22 791 4832
E-mail: tfi@who.int

For more information on the Guidelines for School Health Programs to Prevent Tobacco Use and Addiction:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Division of Adolescent and School Health

http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/tobacco/guidelines/index.htm

Source: “Exposure to Secondhand Smoke Among Students Aged 13-15 Years – Worldwide, 2000-20007,” MMWR Weekly, May 25, 2007; CDC – Tobacco Use website.