PREVENTION OF YOUTH INITIATION INTO SMOKING
According to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the toll of tobacco in South Carolina continues to remain at high levels. Statewide, 36% (85,000) of all high school students smoke, and 10,600 kids under age 18 become new daily smokers each year. Approximately 240,000 kids are exposed to secondhand smoke at home, while 21.3 million packs of cigarettes are purchased or smoked by kids each year. It is anticipated that 90,000 kids now under 18 and alike in South Carolina will ultimately die prematurely from smoking.
South Carolina is committed to preventing the initiation of tobacco use among youth and works to promote and encourage support of proven and effective curriculums, methods and strategies. The following two curriculums, along with the state’s teen anti-smoking media campaign are just a few examples of ways we are working to prevent tobacco use among our youth.
Curriculums
Methods for strengthening school programs include implementing and incorporating evidenced-based curricula into a comprehensive school program to prevent tobacco use and addition. It is important to note that there are many curriculums available for implementation in a school/classroom/group setting, and all are unique in that they are research based The decision to use a particular curriculum should be based on your individual school community and population needs. Two curricula with the most credible evidence to reduce tobacco use among adolescents have been identified by CDC are Life Skills Training and Project T.N.T. (Towards No Tobacco Use).
Science, Tobacco & You
Science Tobacco & You is a multidisciplinary, multimedia, science curriculum resource created by the Center for Integrating Research and Learning at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Florida State University. The goal of Science, Tobacco & You is to encourage students to use science to ask and answer questions that promote scientific literacy; in this case, the medium used is the issue of tobacco use and prevention.
By teaching students to ask the right questions and to determine the answers to questions derived through inquiry, we strive to reduce the use of tobacco products. Educating students on the issues of tobacco and providing them with the education and resources to analyze the issues from a scientific perspective achieves the goal of Science, Tobacco & You. Through scientific analysis and captivating multi-sensory experiences, students explore and understand the harmful effects of tobacco on their bodies, strategies for handling peer pressure to use tobacco, and the role that advertising plays in promoting tobacco addiction.
Science, Tobacco & You is now reaching elementary school students in over 20 states, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
If you are a teacher who would like to receive information on Science, Tobacco & You trainings and curriculum tool kits, please contact Dolores Scott at (803) 545-4467.
Source: http://scienceu.fsu.edu/content/tobaccoyou/
LifeSkills Training
The LifeSkills Training (LST) Program for grades 6-8 is a proven, highly effective, substance abuse prevention/competency enhancement program designed to focus primarily on the major social and psychological factors promoting substance use/abuse. The LST program was developed by Dr. Gilbert J. Botvin, a leading expert on drug abuse prevention, for middle or junior high school students.
It consists of 15 classes that can be implemented in the first year of middle school (usually the 6th grade) or the first year of junior high (usually the 7th grade). The program includes five major components, which consist of two to six lessons, and is designed to be taught in sequence. The LST program is designed to:
- Provide students with the necessary skills to resist social (peer) pressures to smoke, drink and use drugs,
- Help them to develop greater self-esteem, self-mastery, and self-confidence,
- Enable children to effectively cope with social anxiety,
- Increase their knowledge of the immediate consequences of substance use.
The LST program also includes a booster curriculum consisting of 10 classes in the second year of middle or junior high, and 5 classes in the third year.
Project T.N.T. (Towards No Tobacco Use) Grades 6-8
Project T.N.T. is comprehensive, ten-day classroom curriculum is proven effective in giving students the information skills they need to say no to tobacco use. A wide variety of activities--from games, videos and roleplays to group discussion, letter writing and a videotaping project--encourage student involvement and participation. A two-lesson booster program provides a way to summarize learning in daily life.
By participating in Project T.N.T. your students will be able to:
- Reduce their initiation or regular use of tobacco products (smoked and smokeless)
- State accurate information about tobacco addiction, disease, consequences and prevalence among youth
- Demonstrate active listening, assertive refusal, and effective communication skill.
This classroom-ready program includes a Teacher's Guide with extensive background information and step-by-step implementation and comprehensive student guides.
Patrick the Pack Rat
Patrick the Pack Rat, a pre-kindergarten through third grade program, utilizes a recognizable mascot to spread the message of tobacco prevention. The program includes a puppet show, coloring book, and appearance by the mascot Patrick the Pack Rat.
The Patrick the Pack Rat puppet show costs $1,500 which includes a portable stage, 4 character puppets, a backdrop, script, and CD and cassette version of the soundtrack. Mascot costume prices are approximate, and are in the range of $4,000-$5,000.
Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Guidelines for School Health Programs to Prevent Tobacco Use and Addiction. MMWR 1994; Vol. 43, No. RR-2, pp. 1-18.; US Department of Health and Human Services, Women and Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General-2001.
N.O.T.
Not On Tobacco (N-O-T) is a comprehensive research and evaluation-based program designed by the American Lung Association for teens who are regular smokers. 
The voluntary, ten-session program is designed to help students stop smoking or reduce the number of cigarettes smoked, increase healthy lifestyle behaviors and improve life management skills. N-O-T is also designed to be gender sensitive, separating males and females to address significant, specific issues related to tobacco use and cessation. Booster sessions are also included, offering teens extra support in remaining tobacco-free. If you are a teen smoker or know someone who needs help quitting, call one of the American Lung Association’s three South Carolina chapters.
Coastal Region: (843) 556-8451
Midlands Region: (803) 779-5864
Upstate Region: (864) 233-0517
Rage Against the Haze
Rage Against the Haze, officially kicked off statewide in 2003, is South Carolina’s grassroots teen anti-smoking movement, designed for and by today’s youth. Today there are over 1,000 teens aged 13 to 17 
RAGEing against tobacco in our state. They’re from Conway, Columbia, Pickens and everywhere in between. Big city or rural country – they’re coming together to make a difference in the lives of their friends.
They’re putting the active back in activist and getting out the word about not only the dangers of smoking but the marketing tactics that are encouraging teens to light up. They’re petitioning their schools, their parents, their work places and their hangouts to go smoke free and in the process, they’re recruiting other teens to join the movement. Know someone you think would RAGE for change? Tell them to check out www.rageagainstthehaze.com and sign up now to become a member.