|
Preventing Youth from Beginning Tobacco Use
Tobacco use, the nation’s number one cause of preventable death, is a
childhood-onset disease. Magazine advertisements, movies, and retail
marketing have shaped a youth culture that views tobacco use as glamorous,
social, grown-up, and rebellious.
Forty-five children in Washington start using tobacco every day and
one-third of them will eventually die from it. To address this
public health scourge, the Washington Tobacco Prevention and Control
Program conducts a comprehensive, innovative, and diverse campaign to
prevent youth from beginning tobacco use. As a result of these
efforts, there are about 65,000 fewer Washington kids smoking than before
the program began in 1999.
The campaign includes three major elements:
How youth can get involved
-
Teens Against Tobacco Use Program
Teens Against Tobacco Use (T.A.T.U.)
is a peer education program sponsored by the American Lung Association
in which high school students are trained to teach about the hazards of
tobacco use to middle and elementary school students.
Find a
T.A.T.U. group in your community.
-
Youth coalitions
Young community leaders help plan youth-related tobacco prevention
activities in counties across the state.
Youth action teams
are specially trained representatives of eight county coalitions who
receive advanced technical assistance and training from media relations
professionals. Counties with youth action teams include Skagit,
Spokane, Pierce, Grant, Clark, Skamania, Pacific, and Benton/Franklin.
-
SpeakOut!
The American Cancer Society
helps youth leaders and their adult partners build strong youth
coalitions for tobacco prevention and advocacy through the
SpeakOut!
Youth Initiative Program. Workshops are held throughout the
state and participants receive a toolkit as well as the ability to apply
for mini-grants. Find
a SpeakOut! group in your community.
Find out how to get involved in your
community
Where to find anti-tobacco information in your:
Links to external sites of
interest*
Some files on this page require free readers.
Download a free reader.
Alternative File Format Information.
Click here.
*
Links to external resources are provided as a public service for
educational purposes only. External links do not imply endorsement by the
Washington State Department of Health of any political, commercial,
promotional or other proprietary content that may be included in linked
Web sites.
Linked external Web pages are routinely monitored by the Department
for materials that advocate for political outcomes. If you find any
materials on a directly linked Web page that advocates for, or against,
any political candidates, ballot measures, or referendums, please
contact us immediately so that the link may be promptly removed. |
