Preventing Youth Smoking Through Community Education: The Tobacco 21 Law
Description
Healthy Androscoggin (HA) created a mass-reach health communication intervention aimed at educating the community about the Tobacco 21 (T21) law. Their work included prevention activities, education and cessation support - all components of an evidence-based, comprehensive tobacco plan. The Surgeon General’s report states that mass-reach health communication interventions can be one of the most effective strategies in changing social norms by reducing initiation, prevalence and intensity of smoking among youth. The materials HA developed target adults and youth living in their community by increasing awareness of and knowledge about the T21 law, which can help prevent youth initiation. The campaign also connected the community to quit resources, leading to an increase in cessation efforts and a reduction in cancer incidence and mortality. Since launching the campaign, HA has received over 11,000 views on the landing page and over two million on social media.
Learning Objectives
At the end of this session, participants will be able to:
1) Design a mass-reach health communication intervention that disseminates information to the community at large
2) Explain why the Tobacco 21 law is important, including an understanding how the law prevents youth initiation
3) Describe the importance of connecting tobacco cessation resources in a mass-reach health communication intervention
Evaluation
