As commercial sources of tobacco are substantially reduced, youth access to social sources of tobacco is a growing concern for the tobacco control community. The availability of tobacco from social sources is a complex problem best examined within an environmental context, and includes: 1) social sources of cigarettes; 2) peer, family and community role-models; 3) public and private smoking environments, which create opportunities for frequent tobacco exchange; and 4) community attitudes about youth and adult tobacco use.
In 1998 we began a randomized trial in 14 Minnesota communities to address the problem of social availability of tobacco by youth. In seven intervention communities, organizers and community teams developed policy campaigns to increase the number of public and private environments where 1) adult and youth tobacco use is prohibited; 2) fewer adults and youth can model tobacco use; and 3) youth have fewer opportunities to exchange tobacco with each other and adults.
Our intervention method, direct-action organizing, is a process which includes one-on-one contacts with hundreds of individuals, developing a team of committed citizens, sponsoring and executing community events, media advocacy, and presenting tobacco-free indoor and outdoor environment ordinances to city councils. This presentation will discuss the theory for this approach and provide intermediate outcomes from our 28 month intervention.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this presentation the participant will be able to: 1. Discuss the problem of social sources in the context of muliple environmental factors. 2. Discuss the application of a community organizing intervention aimed at creating local-level tobacco-free policies. 3. Access the feasibility of applying a similar intervention model to addressing the problem of youth access to tobacco from social sources in their locale
Keywords: Tobacco Policy, Community Research
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.