RATIONALE FOR TOBACCO CESSATION INTERVENTIONS FOR YOUTH

Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the United St ates. Four of every five persons who use tobacco begin before they rea ch adulthood; more than 3,000 young persons begin smoking each day. In addition, smoking is addictive-three of four teenagers who smoke have made at least one serious, yet unsuccessful, effort to quit. The impo rtance of tobacco use cessation programs for youth is addressed in Hea lthy People 2000: National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Obj ectives and in recently passed legislation related to the Goals 2000 N ational Education Goals. CDC's Guidelines for School Healthy Programs to Prevent Tobacco Use and Addiction states that tobacco cessation pro grams are needed to help young persons who already use tobacco. In 199 4, both the Surgeon General's Report, Preventing Tobacco Use among You ng People, and the Institute of Medicine's report, Growing Up Tobacco Free, indicated that there were very few effective cessation programs for youth and that more research is needed in this area. This project convened experts to provide recommendations on the design of a tobacco cessation intervention for youth, including helping pregnant teenager s who smoke to stop. This program is based on effective adult cessatio n programs with modifications relevant to adolescent development. Duri ng the first year the major foundational work for this project was acc omplished. A database of key contacts and other related interventions in tobacco cessation for youth was developed, a review and analysis of prevalence and trends in adolescent smoking were conducted, and a coo perative agreement with the American Medical Association was establish ed to complete the design, implementation, and evaluation of an effect ive tobacco cessation program for youth. During the second project yea r, this program was tested through quasi-experimental research at vari ous school-based health clinics throughout the country. The third year involved follow-up data collection and program modification based on the results. Plans for dissemination of the intervention to youth-serv ing agencies across the nation will be developed. This is a 3-year pro ject. (C) 1998 American Medical Association.