Teens Against Tobacco Use: A Model for Universal Tobacco Prevention and Youth Advocacy

The investigators will collaborate with Austin High School, Wiggs Middle School, and Guillen Middle School of the El Paso Independent School District to implement smoke free youth coalitions as an after school activity. The coalitions will follow the Teens Against Tobacco Use (TATU) model developed by the American Lung Association, the American Cancer Society, and the American Heart Association. Participating youth will be trained to develop and deliver anti-tobacco presentations to younger students. Each school will have a separate youth coalition operating under the guidance of an adult coordinator. High school youth will present to middle school classes, whereas middle school youth will present to 4th and 5th graders.

To evaluate the efficacy of the smoke-free presentations, the investigators will first match pairs of classrooms willing to have a presentation and then randomly assign one classroom in each pair to either receive the presentation first (intervention condition) or later in the school year (control condition). Following a presentation to a classroom in the intervention condition, investigators will administer a brief survey about tobacco to students in both the intervention class and its matched control class, who have not yet received a presentation. Analyses will compare intervention and control classrooms on smoking susceptibility, perceptions of harm from tobacco use, tobacco industry perceptions, and social norms on tobacco use.

Inclusion criteria

• 4th to 8th grade student
• Classroom must be willing to be randomly assigned to either receive presentations earlier in the school year or late in the school year

Exclusion criteria

• Classes in participating schools that are not in the 4th to 8th grade
• Students not able to read English or Spanish