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Tobacco Free High Schools (TFHS) is not a smoking prevention curriculum – it is an adjunct marketing curriculum designed to assist a high school marketing class in developing and implementing a school-based anti-tobacco campaign. The key features of the TFHS program are: |
| 1. Student-developed. TFHS takes peer involvement
in tobacco control programs to a new level in which students are not only involved in
presenting the tobacco-control program, but also the developers of the program. This
student-centered approach not only increases acceptance of the program by the students at
the school, it also allows the program to be tailored to specific needs of the students at
the school. Student energy and effort is mobilized to produce this program, thereby
greatly reducing the time commitment of teachers and staff to implement the program. 2. Marketing-based. TFHS is not a typical health class curriculum for smoking prevention. Instead, TFHS uses a marketing approach to persuade and motivate students not to use tobacco products. Social marketing principles have been used effectively for many community-based smoking prevention programs. This marketing approach also has the added benefit of illustrating various marketing concepts and strategies as the students develop and implement their anti-tobacco campaign. 3. Web-based resources. The TFHS internet site, www.TobaccoFreeHighSchools.org, provides all of the necessary resources and materials to design, develop, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive tobacco control program at your school. The site provides original content and links to help your students research all of the effective components of a school-based smoking control program. The site also provides a place for students to share their work. 4. Comprehensive. The TFHS program is designed to provide a fully-functional tobacco control program using all of the resources available to the students. The program is consistent with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines for effective school-based smoking prevention programs as well as the current scientific literature on adolescent smoking and prevention/cessation efforts. The CDC's Tobacco Information and Prevention Source (TIPS) is a comprehensive web site filled with information on smoking research, education materials, prevention and control techniques, anti-smoking campaigns and events, and smoking policy and advocacy. The Tobacco Free High Schools plan includes two core modules (Marketing Research, Smoking Prevention) and two supplemental modules (Community Outreach, Policy/Advocacy). This module approach with two to three lessons in each module provides the high school marketing teacher with the flexibility to integrate the lessons and projects into the existing curriculum. Market research, including research conducted by the students, is an integral part of the program and not only guides the marketing campaign but also is used to evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign. With the TFHS program, a high school marketing class will be able to produce a scientifically-based, comprehensive program to reduce the use of tobacco products among the students at their school. |