S Grant - Community and Schools Phase III Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation Initiative Grant Acceptance

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Part II-Proposed Proiect Description of Need (3,800 characters) 10% of Total Score Include in your response: • Community Need: Describe the community's need for the services described in the. plan of work in the proposed service area.. • Teen Demographics: Provide current demographic information about teen tobacco use in the proposed service area. • Youth Activities and Infrastructure: Provide information on current youth tobacco use prevention activities and infrastructure in the proposed service area. • Geographic Area and Populations: Describe the proposed service area and how the population will benefit from the program. The OCHD program is the only program working to prevent youth tobacco-use in the county. The current program has detected needs to enforce 100% TFS policies within both districts and plans to enhance policy communication, supplement the current middle school-based health curricula with youth-driven educational presentations, develop youth-led social norms/counter marketing activities to reduce the influence of tobacco advertising, and develop a sustainable smoke-free dining campaign. Ina 2001YRBS of the two school systems, between 3-12% of middle school students had smoked in the last 30 days. 2005 YRBS results from one district show that the percent of middle school students smoking rose from 3% in 2001 to 6% in 2005. This reveals a need to further strengthen prevention and cessation efforts in the middle schools. In high schools, the 2001 YRBS results showed that 20-25% of high schools students had smoked in the last 30 days. 2003 and 2005 YRBS results show a 5% and 12% drop in high school smokers in both districts. YRBS data also show that 9-17% more high school students had never smoked a whole cigarette in 2004/2005 compared to 2001. These results reveal that county-wide prevention efforts, along with a statewide media campaign, have been effective in reducing the number of high school smokers. The 2003 YRBS also shows that the percentage of high school smokers attempting to quit in the past year dropped from 17% to 10%. This reveals a need for continued 100% TFS policy enforcement through implementation of cessation programs (NOT) and increased awareness of cessation resources. Currently, 41 high school peer educators are actively involved in the program. Peer educators give Tobacco 101 presentations in the middle schools, conduct prevention activities in the high schools and community, advocate for smoke-free family restaurants, and educate decision makers on scientifically supported pro-health policies. Local school-based media is developed by peer educators for delivery through media sources targeting youth in their schools and communities. Peer educators and program supporters also write letters to the editor and PSAs on issues related to the program's goals. In order to sustain youth involvement, peer educators recruit and train new peer educators during. the school year. 6