218539 How Youth Can Advance Tobacco Prevention Policy Change: The 84 Movement in Massachusetts

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Brittany H. Chen, MPH , The 84 Movement, Health Resources in Action, Boston, MA
Yoojin Janice Lee, MPP , The 84 Movement, Health Resources in Action, Boston, MA
Margaret Meyer, BA , The 84 Movement, Health Resources in Action, Boston, MA
Laurie Jo Wallace, MA , Training and Capacity Building, Health Resources in Action, Boston, MA
The 84 Movement, a project funded by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and managed by Health Resources in Action, is a unique, youth-led statewide tobacco prevention movement. This movement is built through community and school based “84 Chapters,” which are youth groups that support local and statewide tobacco prevention and policy change efforts, and promote the positive social norm that most youth do not smoke. Youth in The 84 Movement have been leading tobacco prevention policy change initiatives in their communities since 2005. In 2009, youth in Boston revised a local signage ordinance to limit tobacco advertising in retail stores and passed a regulation banning tobacco sales in pharmacies in partnership with the city's health department. Currently, youth across the state are conducting environmental research on the availability of other tobacco products and exposure to tobacco advertising in retail stores in order to assess the influence of Big Tobacco upon their communities, peers and younger children. Youth will then present their findings to community stakeholder groups and work with them to identify viable policy change opportunities to promote healthier and more tobacco-free communities. This session will propose methods to effectively and creatively engage youth in tobacco prevention policy change efforts and foster youth advocacy to ultimately build a statewide youth tobacco prevention movement.

Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health education
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related public policy
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
1. Identify effective methods of engaging youth in tobacco-related policy change work. 2. Identify tools for engaging youth in tobacco-related policy change, specifically around tobacco advertising and other tobacco products. 3. Identify practical strategies to create a statewide tobacco prevention youth movement. 4. Understand the impact of The 84 Movement on youth developmental outcomes.

Keywords: Youth, Tobacco Policy

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to present because I am the Project Manager for The 84 Movement and have overseen programs on youth and tobacco prevention related policy change for over 3 years.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.