20th Annual Student Research Conference
Human Potential and Performance
Smokebusters: An Interactive Approach to Smoking Prevention and Policy Change
Leslie A. Moss*, Chaeli A. Dougherty, Rebecca N. Verhaeghe, Liz Schulte, and Brittany Schultehenrich
Dr. Carol Cox, Faculty Mentor
Project Smokebusters addresses tobacco-use prevention in schools, homes and communities by teaching 8th-12th grade students to educate themselves. These 'Smokebusters', in turn, teach students in the classroom and adults in the community about the impact of tobacco and secondhand smoke on health. They also seek community-wide tobacco control and/or environmental policy change that support the reduction of tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke. The project objectives are to establish Smokebusters teams committed to the project by teaching them appropriate advocacy and presentation techniques. The youth are trained to counter tobacco advertising and advocate for policy change in order to reduce youth initiation of tobacco use. Smokebusters is a program designed to get young adults involved in community and school tobacco prevention education, as well as community wide policy change. Policy change impacts behavior change and ultimately improves health.
Keywords: tobacco prevention, policy change, Smokebusters, youth
Topic(s):Health Science
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: 2-25
Location: OP Lobby
Time: 4:15 pm