William F. Blatt, MPH, CHES¹, Michelle Mercure, BS, CHES², and Katherine Pruitt¹. (1) National Headquarters, Washington Office, American Lung Association, 1150 18th St NW, Suite 900, Washington, DC 20036-3816, 202-785-3355, bblatt@lungusadc.org, (2) American Lung Association of Wisconsin, 13100 W. Lisbon Rd., Suite 700, Brookfield, WI 53005-2508

Problem/Objective: According to the 2002 Wisconsin Youth Tobacco Survey, 27% of high school students smoke and 61% of those smokers have a desire to quit. The American Lung Association’s Not On Tobacco (N-O-T) program is a research-based program available to assist teens in smoking cessation. N-O-T’s comprehensive approach provides youth the skills to quit or reduce their smoking, increases their healthy lifestyle behaviors and improves their life management skills. Methods: Since the 2001-2002 school year, the American Lung Association of Wisconsin, in partnership with West Virginia University (WVU), has conducted an evaluation of the N-O-T program. Data is self-reported by the student participants, collected by program facilitators, submitted to the Lung Association and analyzed by WVU. Results: This presentation will present the latest data from the 2003-2004 school year. Prior results from the 2002-2003 school year evaluation demonstrated a 23.5% quit rate and a 74.6% reduction rate among those participants that did not quit smoking entirely. Participant responses to the impact of the program on their smoking behavior and other life skills will be addressed. A cumulative summary of evaluation results across school years and a comparison with available data from other states will also be shared. Discussion/Conclusion: The N-O-T program provides teens the skills needed to stop smoking. Quit rates and reduction rates from year to year indicate that the N-O-T program consistently helps a large proportion of participants quit smoking. Where available, the N-O-T program is a valuable resource to help addicted teen smokers.

Learning Objectives:

• At the end of the session, attendees will be able to explain the reach and impact of the American Lung Association's N-O-T program nationwide, explain the outcomes from implementation of N-O-T in Wisconsin in the 2003-2004 school year and identify needed resources for implementing the N-O-T program in a given area.

Keywords: Tobacco Control, Adolescents

Related Web page: www.lungusa.org/tobacco/not/index.html

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: I am employed as Manager of Tobacco Control Programs by the American Lung Association, distributer of the program being discussed.