The Long County's Family Connection Partnership Youth Advisory Council used elements from the Tobacco Prevention Youth Summit  to get the Long County Parks and Recreation system to adopt the 100% tobacco-free recreation and parks policy.

The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) is currently promoting youth empowerment education campaigns statewide designed to promote peer education on the dangers of tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke. These education campaigns have resulted in local school board adoption of model tobacco-free campus policies. Currently, 87 out of 181 Georgia school districts are protecting youth from exposure to secondhand smoke and educating youth on the dangers of tobacco use.

In addition to the education campaign, DPH promotes the Georgia Tobacco Quitline. The Georgia Tobacco Quitline is a free telephone counseling service targeting youth 13-17 years of age and adults 18 years of age and older. To access the free counseling, youth are encouraged to call the toll-free number: 1-877-270-STOP (7867). The Quitline, coupled with the school-based education campaigns, is providing key messages to the youth of Georgia. The key messages include:  there are no safe levels of exposure to secondhand smoke, tobacco and health just don't mix, and we can make tobacco use the exception and not the norm.
 

Kenneth Ray, program manager with DPH's Georgia Tobacco Use Prevention Program (TUPP), discussed with Long County youth what they learned during the  Tobacco Prevention Youth Summit at Savannah State University.

In 2011, middle and high school students from across the state gathered at the Georgia National Fair Grounds and launched a statewide, youth-led campaign to establish 100% tobacco-free schools policies in Georgia's public schools. L-R: Savannah Duke, Scott Sherwin, DeMarcus Chambers, Stephanie Hernandez, Maria Cabanas and Christa Layton

DPH encourages all parents to visit: http://www.cdc.gov/features/BackToSchool/ to receive helpful tips on how to help prevent the initiation of youth tobacco use and keep children tobacco-free. For more information about adopting a tobacco-free lifestyle, Georgians can visit the "Be Smoke-Free" section of the Live Healthy Georgia web site at: http://www.livehealthygeorgia.org

-Story by Kenneth Ray, MPH, Program Manager, and Michael Jackson, Program Consultant, Georgia Tobacco Use Prevention Program, Georgia Department of Public Health