School policy in COMMIT: a promising strategy to reduce smoking by youth

Organizational smoking policy has been identified as a potentially effective way to influence health behavior, particularly in worksites. Examining the elements of existing school smoking policies for both students and employees can provide insight into the potential effectiveness of these policies in changing young people's smoking behavior. This paper examines selected components of existing school smoking policies in a national sample of schools at all levels of education as part of the Community Intervention Trial for Smoking Cessation. Schools were questioned about their school smoking policies, related resources, and compliance. The data show much variation in the elements of school tobacco use policy to change smoking behavior. Existing policies in schools differ among grade levels, thus providing different messages about the appropriateness of smoking. Policies differ for students and adults, providing another opportunity for confusion about the messages that policy can deliver. In general, resources available to support existing policies are lacking. Many schools offer classes on knowledge of negative health effects of smoking but do not teach the psychosocial skills necessary to resist tobacco use. In its present forms, school policy has great potential for an effective tool for health promotion, but considerable reform is needed to overcome current barriers.