1. Comprehensive School Policy

2. Why do we need a School Policy? Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the U.S. 80% of adults start smoking before the age of 18 3,000 youth start smoking every day Implementing a comprehensive school policy, combined with other efforts, can reduce youth tobacco use by 20-40%

3. What constitutes a Comprehensive Policy? 1. Developing and enforcing policies prohibiting tobacco use 2. Educating on short and long-term effects of smoking 3. Providing K-12 prevention education 4. Providing teacher-specific training 5. Gaining parental and family support of school-based programs 6. Offering cessation support 7. Assessing tobacco-use prevention programs at regular intervals

4. Steps to Creating a Tobacco-Free Campus 1. Assess your policy What do you already have in place? What pieces are missing? Are the policies easy to find? 2. Educate Students, staff, and community 3. Gather support for your policy change Board members, staff, parents, and community members

5. Educating. Students, Staff and community 8,900 kids become new regular smokers everyday. Did you know 1200 Missourians die each year from illnesses caused by secondhand smoke? Did you know a smoker inhales 4.000 chemicals with every puff of a cigarette?

6. 4. Learn your school board process When does the board meet? How do you get on the agenda? How much time do you get for your presentation? What are you going to say? Make sure you keep things positive (i.e. “This is a health issue,” not “This kills people”). All students on team should participate in some way. 5. Gather evidence for your efforts Take pictures of the grounds. Have people ready to testify. Gather cigarette butts from the grounds. Steps (Cont.)

7. Man on the Street

8. Adult Survey Results (36) ( 10 )

9. The Big Picture Responses In Favor of Zalma R-V Becoming A Tobacco Free Campus

10. Tobacco-Free Campus Petition Board

11. What should you wear? ◦ Dress professionally (i.e. T-shirts, jeans, tennis shoes, etc.) ◦ Nothing revealing (i.e. Short skirts, low cut tops, clothes with holes, etc.) Create a timeline ◦ October/November: Start meeting with your team  Make sure each member is committed and excited ◦ December: Try to get on school board calendar Details When Presenting to the School Board

12. 09/10 Smokebusters Team Left to Right, bottom row – Alisha Hendrix, Taylor Whitehead, Torie VanGennip, second row, Levi Payne, Lorie VanGennip, Savanah Rogers, Austin Sitze, back row, Hillary Merick, Kelsey Whitehead, Sponsor Karen Eftink, RN, Kalie Bennett and Hannah Rogers.

13. Create a timeline (cont’d.) ◦ February: Collect community and school surveys  Start developing presentation  Practice, Practice, Practice ◦ March: Present to school board ◦ April: Follow up with school board ◦ May: Help implement new policy

14. School Board Meeting Come early, Be professional Address members by proper titles ◦ (Dr., Mr., Mrs., etc.) Be polite Answer questions in a professional manner Thank them when you are finished

15. Follow up Did the Board have any questions that you could not answer? Find out what the Board’s next steps are. Do you need to gather more support? Keep watching to make sure they address the issue. o If they do not follow up with a vote in the next couple of months, you may need to go back to the board again. Make sure they agree on a comprehensive policy. After Board Meeting

16. After Policy Passes Implement tobacco policy Educate the community o Create posters and banners, make announcements at games, hold contests, place an ad in the paper, etc. o Monitor the target areas. Students and mentors can help with this. A simple reminder to anyone using tobacco helps considerably. Thank the Board for passing policy

18. Tobacco free throws

19. Educational Display