Comparison of tobacco policies and programs in public and private schools

Background: The Southeastern Pennsylvania (SEPA) Tobacco Control Program provides tobacco prevention and cessation services in seven counties including urban, suburban and rural areas. The program conducted a survey of schools in late spring 2009 with the purpose of creating a comprehensive picture of school policies and practices in the region to inform tobacco control program planning and assess needs for assistance among schools The methodology involved mailing a two-page questionnaire to 500 randomly selected public and private schools; extensive mail and telephone follow-up resulted in an overall response rate of nearly 70%.

Findings: The vast majority of schools have written tobacco polices and nearly all prohibit possession of tobacco by students. The most common consequences for student policy violators are detention/suspension or a monetary fine. Few schools require students to receive mandatory tobacco education and only one out of seven offers onsite voluntary quit smoking assistance. Most schools provide tobacco prevention education, but many do not use evidence-based curricula. Half of all schools surveyed requested assistance with tobacco education or policy. Public schools are more likely than private schools to have tobacco policies and to provide prevention education and/or cessation services.

Conclusions: According to CDC, effective school-based prevention includes strong tobacco use polices, evidence-based education and cessation assistance for students and staff who smoke. This survey indicates that public schools in SEPA are closer to this goal than private schools, but that many would benefit from technical assistance. The level of interest expressed by schools is encouraging.