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May 6, 2008
Tobacco bans change social norms for kidsA new study out of Massachusetts shows that smoking bans in restaurants effectively discourage young teenagers from becoming smokers, and suggests that restaurant smoking bans are even more powerful than the effect of whether a parent or close friend smokes. According to the study, kids in towns with strict restaurant smoking bans were a full 40 percent less likely to smoke than kids in towns with weak or non-existent restrictions.
This is big news for several reasons: Smoking is still the leading preventable cause of death in the US, and fully ninety percent of all smokers start before the age of 18 – tobacco use is a pediatric disease.
Perhaps most encouraging, this study shows that while tobacco use may be an individual decision, there is much that we can do to influence the environment in which that decision takes place. If we work to make tobacco use socially unacceptable, kids are much less likely to try it and get addicted.
World No-Tobacco Day is coming up May 31. Why not take this chance to review and update your school district’s tobacco use policy? For information or technical assistance on comprehensive tobacco free school policies, email info@schoolhealth.org.
Posted May 6, 2008 3:32 PM | Health & Wellness | Students
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