Youth Prevention

Research

Water pipe tobacco smoking among middle and high school students
Researchers studied the prevalence rates of water pipe tobacco smoking among middle and high school students in Florida and found that 4% of middle school students and 11% of high school students reported ever having used a water pipe. The study also found that teenage boys were more likely than girls to use water pipes. The researchers concluded that water pipe usage among adolescents seems to be widespread, and further research is needed to assess the health implications and risks involved. Click here for an abstract of the article which was published in the September issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

Smoking and drinking among college students: “It’s a package deal”
A qualitative research study was conducted on college students regarding the association between smoking and drinking. Data were collected by conducting interviews and focus groups concentrating on topics including current smoking behavior, reasons for smoking, and smoking and drinking. The data suggested that smoking was stigmatized during the context of an individual’s day-to-day life, but was viewed as normal and socially acceptable in the context of partying with alcohol. The article was published in the September issue of Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Click here for an abstract of the article.

Teen attitudes toward smoking linked to likelihood of drinking and using drugs
New research examined the specific ways parents and peers influence teenagers to smoke, drink, and use marijuana in combination. The results indicate that friends’ and parents’ attitudes influenced teenagers’ use of multiple substances (smoking, drinking and marijuana), and that this is manifested differently in boys and girls. The use of multiple substances was associated with high perceived prevalence of smoking among peers. Researchers believe this information could help in developing new gender-specific educational tactics for preventing these behaviors. Click here to read the abstract of the study in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Substance Abuse. Click here to read more about the study’s findings.

Phone counseling aids in smoking cessation
New research indicates that proactive telephone counseling, in which the cessation counselor contacts the smoker, and individually tailored motivational interviews can help teen smokers quit. In a randomized trial, nearly 22% of counseled teen smokers reported quitting smoking for six months, compared to 18% of students in a non-interventional group. In a second study, researchers evaluated the implementation of personalized telephone counseling for adolescents. They found that the intervention, which incorporated motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioral skills training, was implemented with fidelity to the protocol, and can be used for a general population of adolescent smokers. Read more here. Both studies were published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Click here for the abstract of the randomized trial of personalized telephone counseling for adolescents. Click here to read the abstract of the study on the design and implementation of a telephone counseling intervention for adolescents.

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Reports

2010 Legacy Youth Activism Fellowship
The Youth Activism Fellowship provides an opportunity for young adults to build leadership in the tobacco control movement through training, coaching, peer to peer networking, and direct action. This program embodies and promotes Legacy’s mission to build a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. Drawing on imaginative, practical, and effective strategies to reach young people with their message, members sharpen their skills and organizing experience to work passionately as tobacco control and prevention advocates in their communities. Click here to learn more, and to access the online application.

New study: Rural youth show high levels of awareness of truth® youth smoking prevention campaign
A new study shows that increased exposure to the national youth smoking prevention campaign truth® in rural communities caused high levels of awareness among rural youth, providing a hopeful platform to see decreased levels of smoking initiation given the campaign’s effectiveness. Researchers from the American Legacy Foundation tested the prevention campaign in rural and surrounding smaller communities using local broadcast television. The study found that awareness of truth® increased from 40% to 71% among youths, and youths living in rural and low population density communities were receptive to the campaign’s messages. Click here to read a press release from the American Legacy Foundation. Click here to read the abstract of the research in the American Journal of Public Health.

Fewer California stores sell cigarettes to minors, state says (CA)
California’s tobacco sales to minors are at their lowest levels in more than a decade, according to a survey by the state Department of Public Health. The percentage of tobacco retailers selling to minors dropped from 12.6 percent in 2008 to 8.6 percent this year. State officials credit stronger enforcement, higher tobacco taxes, and robust anti-smoking campaigns for the decline. Many local laws now require retailers to pay fees to obtain licenses. The fees are used to fund enforcement programs to prevent illegal sales to minors. Read more here.

Crackdown on stores selling tobacco to Hawaii’s kids (HI)
According to a new state survey released by the Hawaii State Department of Health’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division, the number of tobacco sales to minors has almost been cut in half compared to last year’s survey. Much of the credit goes to undercover teens that assist with stings to identify stores that fail to check IDs and sell tobacco products to minors. Lieutenant Governor Duke Aiona has praised the work of one such group, Kruisin Against Tobacco Sales, or KATS. Hawaii is now below the national average in illegal tobacco sales. Read more here.

Schools approve tobacco ban (IN)
The Portage Township School Board recently approved a ban on all tobacco products on school property, effective next year. However, the board is now investigating how to control two other questionable substances: new nicotine-laden candy and strips being test-marketed in Indianapolis. The products are packaged in containers resembling cigarette packs, and could be on the general market in less than a year. Board members will investigate the new products, and intend to pass a new policy that will include language banning these products as well. Read more here.

Ad campaign urges New York schools to enforce tobacco-free policies (NY)
The New York State Tobacco-Free School Policy Partnership unveiled its “We’re Watching” ad campaign which will promote strong enforcement of comprehensive tobacco-free policies by secondary schools and school districts throughout the state of New York. The campaign calls upon principals, assistant principals and superintendents to “send the right message” to students, many of whom report seeing smoking on school grounds despite existing policies prohibiting tobacco use. The multimedia ad campaign will appear in professional education publications, on education websites, and in direct mailings to school administrators. Click here to read more about the new campaign.

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