32nd Annual Great American Smokeout
November 13, 2008 - One of the best ways to keep teens from smoking is to make sure that their schools are 100% tobacco-free, and school policies from around the country are reflecting it. How does your school’s policy measure up? The Great American Smokeout on November 20 marks a perfect opportunity to find out. On a day when smokers across the country are laying down their lighters, take a look at what your school is doing to keep teens from picking them up.
A 2008 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) shows that current cigarette use among high school students in the U.S. remained stable at 21.9% from 2003 to 2007. This comes after a significant seven year decline – a 14.5% drop between 1997 and 2003. This report shows that to achieve the national health objective for 2010 in reducing the prevalence of current cigarette use among high school students to 16% or less, the rate of decline in smoking seen during 1997-2003 must continue.
To help reach this and other national health and education goals, the CDC recommends that all schools prohibit tobacco use by students, staff, parents, and visitors on all school premises, in school vehicles, and at all school functions, 24 hours a day and seven days a week. The guidelines also recommend prohibiting all tobacco advertising on school property, at school functions, and in school publications. Earlier this year, NSBA’s delegate assembly passed a new policy urging local school boards to enact and enforce tobacco-free schools policies.
However, a School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS) examining data from 2006 reveals that only 55.4% of schools and 63.6% of districts were following these guidelines at that time.
If your district or school has not recently examined and updated its school tobacco policy to reflect the 100-percent tobacco-free school guidelines recommended by the CDC, the Great American Smokeout is the perfect opportunity to begin the process. The CDC’s School Health Index is an assessment and planning tool that can help school communities determine gaps in policy and practice and set priorities for change.
The Great American Smokeout began in 1976 when the California division of the American Cancer Society successfully prompted nearly one million smokers to quit for the day. The American Cancer Society offers a list of cessation resources and information to help tobacco users quit. The American Cancer Society Quitline services are available in some states, and offer free telephone counseling, advice, and materials for smokers trying to quit. For more information on quitting smoking, call 1-800-ACS-2345 24-hours a day, or contact the American Cancer Society at:
American Cancer Society
2970 Clairmont Road, NE
Suite 840
Atlanta, GA 30329
1-800-ACS-2345
http://www.cancer.org
For more information on tobacco use prevention through schools, visit NSBA’s School Health Programs website, or email schoolhealth@nsba.org. A "Tobacco Prevention 101" packet of resources is available, and the NSBA online database also provides background information, sample policies, and web links to helpful resources.