Ad Campaign Urges Schools to Enforce Tobacco-Free Policies
The New York State School Policy Partnership today unveiled its “We’re Watching” ad campaign promoting strong enforcement of comprehensive tobacco-free policies by schools and school districts throughout New York State. The multimedia ad campaign specifically calls upon principals, assistant principals and superintendents to “send the right message” to students, many of whom report seeing smoking on school grounds despite existing policies prohibiting tobacco use.
“When students see tobacco use at school, they get the message that tobacco use is a normal, socially acceptable behavior,” said Kari Shanahan, Tobacco Policy Coordinator for Madison County. “The more effective we are at creating truly tobacco-free environments for young people, the better they are able to resist pressure to use tobacco.” Most schools in Central New York have some kind of no-smoking policy, according to Shanahan, but many policies are not comprehensive and some are not communicated or enforced.
A 2006 survey by the New York State Department of Health found that two-thirds of high school students reported seeing other students smoking on school grounds in the previous month and 40% reported seeing adults smoking at school. Federal health officials recommend implementation of comprehensive tobacco-free school policies as a top strategy for reducing adolescent tobacco use.
“Ninety percent of smokers start before the age of 18,” Shanahan points out. “When school administrators take a strong stand against tobacco use, it has a real impact on students at a time when they’re most likely to acquire what could be a lifelong addiction.” Research has found that schools which enforce strong tobacco-free policies have lower student smoking rates, less absenteeism, and higher academic achievement.
The “We’re Watching” campaign ads will be featured in professional education publications such as The School Administrator, EdWeek and Principal Leadership, as well as on popular education websites. In addition, local school policy partners will be distributing campaign materials in their districts. “We hope this campaign will drive home the importance of enforcing tobacco-free policies and inform administrators about the free assistance we can provide to help their schools become tobacco-free,” added Shanahan, who helps local schools with everything from sample policies to free signage.
The New York State Tobacco-Free School Policy Partnership is a network of more than 30 local agencies providing free resources and assistance to administrators to develop, implement and enforce comprehensive tobacco-free school policies.
To learn more and contact local school policy partners, visit the campaign’s website, www.TobaccoFreePolicy.org.
