Tobacco & Health

School Anti-Smoking Programs

A Closer Look at Tobacco

This tobacco prevention program was designed for high school students. Since 2004, over 30,000 students from 60 schools participated in this program at their respective schools. For details or to request this program contact Mary Ann Valasek at Health Lungs Pennsylvania.

How to Keep Your Children Smoke Free

A program for parents to help them provide valuable information to their children and influence them not to use any form of tobacco products.

No Butts About School

Tobacco use usually begins in early adolescence before age 16. Almost ALL first use occurs before students graduate from high school.

If adolescents can be kept tobacco-free during high school, most will remain tobacco-free for the rest of their lives. Smoking is most common among 17- ­and 18-year olds. About 25% of these young people smoke. Male and female adolescents are equally likely to smoke cigarettes. Males are much more likely than females to use smokeless tobacco. Over the past decade, there has been virtually no decline in smoking rates among all teens. Among black adolescents, however, the prevalence of smoking has declined dramatically (1994). Nicotine is generally the first drug used by young people who use alcohol, marijuana, and harder drugs. Adolescent tobacco use is associated with being in fights, carrying weapons, and engaging in higher-risk sexual behavior.

Most young people who smoke ARE addicted to nicotine. In fact, most young people who have smoked as few as 100 cigarettes in their lifetime report they would quit but they can't. Nicotine addiction makes quitting smoking as hard as quitting heroin, cocaine, or alcohol. Students with poorer grades and lower-self images are most likely to begin using tobacco.

The younger a person begins smoking, the greater the risk for developing numerous illnesses associated with smoking. These include poor physical fitness, coughing and phlegm, greater chance of respiratory illness and coronary disease, slower rate of lung growth, and decreased lung function.

No Butts About School is a group of tobacco awareness and prevention programs for young people. It encompasses a variety of programs and educational activities specifically designed to help elementary and high school students who use tobacco to quit, and to also keep those who don't use tobacco from ever getting started. It is the most widely utilized school program in our region.

The Truth About Tobacco

Offers a true picture of tobacco use to sixth grade students in a way they understand — and remember!

Today and everyday in the United States, over 3,000 new tobacco users smoke their very first cigarette or try their first chew. Many of these new users are 11 or 12 years old, some as young as 9. They begin is spite of the fact that the dangers of tobacco use are made known to them at an early age. This scenario creates a dilemma for teachers, parents, society and the students themselves.

As part of a comprehensive approach to the tobacco use problem, Healthy Lungs Pennsylvania offers The Truth about Tobacco to sixth grade students. This program teaches students about the effect that tobacco has on their minds and bodies as well as the impact it will have on their lives now and in the future. It provides a foundation for sound decision making regarding tobacco use and how to interpret powerful messages coming from all forms of the media.