The Windsor Central Supervisory Union has amended their Community Council to include a Tobacco Coalition. Members of this Council/Coalition include teachers, parents, students, educators, administrators, counselors, nurses, physicians, the parent-teacher organization, business and community members, and members of service organizations representing six sending towns. The council's mission and strategic plan is to identify, maintain, and build community assets as represented in the Resiliency Theory. The coalition has identified three components that make up a comprehensive tobacco program: preventing young people from starting to smoke, linking people with the resources to quit, and reducing exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. Our prevention plan has been divided into seven parts: a comprehensive approach promoting anti-tobacco media and media literacy, alliance building, coordination of efforts within and outside of school, parent outreach, community education, education of youth, and connecting smokers with cessation programs. Our program goals reflect the aspects of a comprehensive tobacco plan: increased knowledge of the effects of tobacco smoke (direct and indirect), increased knowledge of the availability of cessation programs for all age groups, decreased tobacco use among youth and adults, increased use of cessation programs, reduced exposure to environmental smoke, and prevent young people from smoking. An anti-tobacco facilitator will be hired in order to meet these objectives. Our community council/tobacco coalition will also be actively involved in our prevention plan. The program will be reevaluated in one year and further funding will be sought.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, the participant will be able to: 1. List the three components that make up a comprehensive tobacco program. 2. Identify the members of a community council/tobacco coalition. 3. Identify the strategies used in a comprehensive tobacco program.
Keywords: Tobacco, Education
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.