Preventing Youth From Starting Tobacco Use
Statewide, 18.7 percentof all high school students smoke, and 5,550 kids under age 18 become new daily smokers each year. These rates have dramatically decreased from a high of 36.6 percent of high school students smoking in 1999, but statistics show children in our state are starting to try smoking at younger ages. In 2007, 8.7 percent of S.C. middle school students smoked, which was above the national average. It is anticipated that 103,000 kids now under 18 and alive in South Carolina will ultimately die prematurely from smoking.
The Division is committed to preventing the initiation of tobacco use among youth and works to promote proven and effective curriculums, methods and strategies. The following initiatives are just a few examples of ways we are working to prevent tobacco use among our youth.
Curriculums
Methods for strengthening school programs include implementing and incorporating evidenced-based curricula into a comprehensive school program to prevent tobacco use and addiction. It is important to note that there are many curriculums available for implementation in a school/classroom/group setting, and all are unique in that they are research- based. The decision to use a particular curriculum should be based on your individual school community and population needs.
Science, Tobacco & You
Science Tobacco & You is a multidisciplinary, multimedia, science curriculum resource created by the Center for Integrating Research and Learning at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Florida State University. Through scientific analysis and captivating multi-sensory experiences, students explore and understand the harmful effects of tobacco on their bodies, strategies for handling peer pressure to use tobacco, and the role that advertising plays in promoting tobacco addiction.
The activities in Science, Tobacco and You have been correlated to the state’s educational standards.
If you are a teacher who would like to receive information on Science, Tobacco & You trainings and curriculum tool kits, please contact Kymburle Gripper Sims at (803) 545-4460.
To view the curriculum, visit http://scienceu.fsu.edu/states/sc.html.
Rage Against the Haze
Rage Against the Haze, officially kicked off statewide in 2003, is South Carolina’s grassroots teen tobacco-free movement, designed for and by today’s youth.
Using word –of-mouth marketing as its primary strategy, Rage Against the Haze empowers young people to talk to their peers about the dangers of tobacco use and the marketing practices often used to encourage tobacco use. Rage is open to all S.C. teens ages 13 to 17. To join the movement or learn more, visit www.rageagainstthehaze.com.