School Personnel

At a time in a child's life when it is most important, school personnel, including teachers, administrators, board members, and staff, can play an invaluable role in the prevention of tobacco use. Simply by providing daily support for a tobacco-free lifestyle, as well as education on the risks of tobacco use, school personnel can help students to quit and abstain from the use of tobacco.¹

The Facts

• The earlier in life that a person begins smoking cigarettes, the more likely it is that he or she will become strongly addicted to nicotine.²
• Nearly 70% of new, regular smokers in 2004 were under age 18 when they first smoked cigarettes.¹
• Of new daily smokers in 2004, half a million, an estimated 49.5%, were younger than age 18 when they started smoking daily.¹
• High school smoking is on the rise: in 2005, 23% of high school students were current smokers, compared with 22% in 2003, 29% in 2001, 35% in 1995 and 28% in 1991.³
• Studies show that health education in schools can reduce health-risk behaviors among young people. For example, social learning curriculum delivered to sixth and seventh grade students achieved significant reductions in smoking among these students through the ninth grade.⁴

What School Personnel Can Do

Teachers and Coaches Can:

• Protect your own health and set a good example by not using tobacco. Also, encourage and support students and other school personnel to quit using tobacco.
• Find and use national, state, and local resources for tobacco-use prevention education and training, including our Programs page for more information.
• Work with other school personnel, parents, and the community to implement curricula and teaching methods that meet the criteria in the CDC's Guidelines for School Health Programs to Prevent Tobacco Use and Addiction. (See Helpful Links)
• Teach tobacco use-prevention and risk education in a variety of classes, such as science, history, and English, using a variety of activities.
• Prohibit tobacco use by students participating in sports and stress the adverse effects of tobacco on sports performance.

School Administrators and Board Members Can:

• Require tobacco-use prevention education for students in every grade level.
• Enact and enforce policies that require school facilities, grounds, and events, including sports practices and competitions, to be tobacco-free.
• Encourage the establishment of tobacco cessation programs for students and school personnel.
• Involve all school personnel, families, and community members in key decisions about tobacco-use prevention programs.
• Establish training for teachers in preventing tobacco use and provide ongoing training that focuses on teaching strategies for promoting healthy behaviors. See our Programs page for more information.
• Continually evaluate the effectiveness of programs to prevent tobacco use among students.

Find the full version of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's "Preventing Tobacco Use and Addiction Among Young People, How You Can Help," including PDF, at http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/tobacco/guidelines/help.htm.

Helpful Links

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Publications Catalog, Educational Materials: "Helpful information for parents, educators, professionals, youth leaders and employers. The following materials are free of charge and in the public domain."

Life Skills Training: Evidence-based Substance Abuse Programs for Schools, Families and Communities.

National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Healthy Youth! Tobacco Use Publications. Includes the CDC's Guidelines for School Health Programs to Prevent Tobacco Use and Addiction.

National Institute on Drug Abuse for Teens, The Science Behind Drug Abuse, Mind Over Matter: Teaching Guide: "This exciting neuroscience education series, developed by the NIDA, a component of the National Institutes of Health, is designed to encourage youngsters in grades 5-9 to learn about the biological effects of drug abuse on the body and the brain."

National Institute on Drug Abuse Goes Back to School: Science based drug abuse education. "NIDA Goes Back to School is your source of free information about the latest science-based drug abuse publications and teaching materials."

Youth Tobacco Cessation Collaborative: "The Youth Tobacco Cessation Collaborative was formed in 1998 to address the gaps in knowledge about what cessation strategies are most effective in assisting youth to quit smoking."

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