Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #103252

Aaron Tucker¹, Jill Freudenwald, MA¹, Jean O'Connor, JD, MPH², and Regina El Arculli, MA³. (1) Center for Health Policy and Legislative Analysis, The MayaTech Corporation, 1100 Wayne Avenue, Suite 900, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3921, 301-587-1600, atucker@mayatech.com, (2) School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30324, (3) Office of Policy Analysis and Response, National Cancer Institute, Building 31, Room 10A48, 31 Center Drive, MSC 2580, Bethesda, MD 20892-2580

Children and teenagers constitute the majority of all new smokers ¹ and the average age of a person trying their first cigarette is 14.5 years². Almost 11% of high school students report having smoked on school property in the preceding 30 days³. The younger people begin smoking, the more likely they are to become addicted to nicotine¹; approximately 70% of smokers become regular smokers by age 18.²

Smoking, exposure to second hand smoke, and the use of smokeless tobacco can have serious health effects for children and young adults.¹ Limiting a minor's exposure to tobacco promotion and use and increasing tobacco prevention programs are important aspects of effective prevention strategies.⁴ Although CDC recommends school tobacco use prevention programs and smoke-free school policies,³ state lawmakers have not consistently passed laws that require tobacco education in schools or restrict tobacco advertising near schools.

Using data from the National Cancer Institute's State Cancer Legislative Database, this poster will examine state legislatures' attention to decreasing the use of tobacco products in schools as of December 31, 2004 and identify legal barriers, such as First Amendment or Master Settlement Agreement considerations, to state legislative action. Preliminary data reveal that less than 10 states have laws addressing tobacco advertising and only 19 states have laws addressing tobacco education curriculum guidelines or in-service training for teachers and other school personnel. State lawmakers have focused more attention on clean indoor air laws in schools. Currently, 43 states have laws restricting or prohibiting smoking in public schools.

Learning Objectives:

• This presentation will provide an overview of the tobacco use problem facing schools today and approaches taken by state lawmakers to address the problem. Following this presentation, participants will be able to describe the categories of laws state lawmakers have passed to decrease smoking in schools, to identify states with laws to control underage tobacco use, and to list the states where there are opportunities to strengthen tobacco control laws that impact schools.

Keywords: Tobacco Legislation, School Health

Related Web page: www.scld-nci.net

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.