Project Smokebusters
Project Smokebusters is a
youth advocacy program that promotes healthy tobacco free environments by
advocating for elimination of secondhand smoke exposure and reduction of youth
initiation of tobacco use. Since the inception of Project Smokebusters in
In the beginning of the
program the Northeast Missouri Cancer Control Coalition started with
implementing educational programs such as Teens Against
Tobacco Use and Operation Smokescreen. These programs were effective in educating
youth about the dangers of tobacco use, but were not sufficient to produce the
behavior change of reducing smoking rates. Also, students were interested in
reducing exposure to secondhand smoke and wanting to become involved in their
community. In the fall of 2001, the
Northeast Missouri Cancer Control Coalition revamped the program to meet these
needs, and expanded from education to action and environmental policy change.
Policy Initiation
Project Smokebusters was
developed from the evaluations from our youth educational/advocacy groups. Each
year at trainings students were asked for input on what they would like to know
more about, indicating the need for environmental policy change. In addition, the Centers of Disease Control
indicated a policy change to increase the number of smoke free work and public
places was one of the most effective ways to reduce tobacco consumptions by
adults and youth.
Public Health Agency Roles
The role of the state health
department has been very valuable in a number of ways. As a Community Policy Specialist for
The tobacco use prevention
program has helped by offering technical assistance in the areas of educational
materials, staff that helped us in our development of the Smokebusters manuals,
and expertise in the area secondhand smoke. They have also help compose the pre
and post test for the day trainings along with a research analyst to help get
us organized for data collecting issues. The research analyst developed a logic
model which helps to explain the programs to others. Lastly, the state health
department helped expand the program to the Northwest and Southeast region of
the state by supporting training for staff of local public health agencies and
other organizations interested in the program, and by promoting the program on
the Department of Health’s and Senior Services’ website.
Major Partners
Project Smokebusters is no
easy task and it takes many partners to make the program a success. Northeast
Missouri Cancer Control Coalition is the lead agency of the program that is
comprised of many different health organizations that helped make this a
program of great power. Local public health agencies help by offering funds,
staff, and local support to provide the trainings in their counties. Some of
the local public health agencies seek support from local service organizations.
The schools administrators and teachers are major contributors as they allow the
program to be implemented in their schools, and agree to consider policy change
recommendations for their school polices. Many of the local churches offer use
of their facility free of charge so trainings can be held there each year. Support
and funding has been contributed by American Cancer Society, American Lung
Association, American Heart Association, local service organizations, and
Official Support
School administrators have
been a major support for the program, and have allowed youth to advocate for
policy recommendations. State and local government officials have participated
in youth training to explain the process on how government works and how policy
change occurs at the state and local levels.
Results from the Policy
Tracking the impact and
outcomes of the Project Smokebusters has been important part of the program.
For instance, since 1999 tracking has consisted of the number of youth and
mentors trained each year, the number of schools in the program, the number of
presentations the youth made and the number of policy changes that resulted. In
1999, we had approximately 20 school groups with 200 mentors and youth trained.
Those numbers have increased to 75 school groups, 875 youth and adults in 33
different counties in 2005. During the 2004-2005 school year more than 155,847
Missourians have been reached through presentations and community events in the
Northeast, Northwest and
The major lessons learned in
this program include the importance of listening to youth and involving them in
the design of the program. Another lesson is the importance of strong school
support to allow the students to not only attend the trainings, but to
implement activities within the school and community that result policy change.
Opposition
There was opposition with
some of the policies that were passed.
In some cases the opposition was handled with a compromise policy (e.g.
instead of the entire school grounds tobacco free, compromising with a policy
prohibiting smoking within 50 ft from any entrance type). Other opposition was
handled by educating the local boards of education about the issue that the
opposition was presenting and the policy was adopted. In some cases, policy changes were asked for
but the opposition was too strong and a policy change was not adopted.
Submitted By
Joyce Lara
Community Policy Specialist
19168 Orrick Trl
660-665-8606
660-665- 8606 (FAX--call
first)