Publisher's Synopsis
Youth Tobacco Cessation: A Guide for Making Informed Decisions is intended to help you decide whether to undertake youth tobacco use cessation as a specific tobacco control activity. This publication covers topics such as the quality of the evidence base for youth interventions, the importance of conducting a needs assessment for the population your organization serves, and the need to evaluate your chosen intervention. The demand for effective youth tobacco use cessation interventions is growing. Like all public health programs, such interventions must be based on evidence that proves they work. Unfortunately, rigorous scientific studies upon which to base recommendations are lacking for youth tobacco use cessation. Thus, this guide does not endorse any specific interventions or provide instructions on how to develop or implement interventions. It outlines the elements of a comprehensive tobacco control program, discusses issues that should be considered when making decisions, presents the most promising types of interventions, and provides guidance on evaluation activities (see Figure 1). Chapter 1 discusses the health consequences of tobacco use for youth (defined in this guide as those aged 12-19 years) and outlines national objectives for reducing youth tobacco use. It explains how the guidelines in this publication were developed and how lessons learned from adult interventions may or may not be applicable to youth interventions. Chapter 1 also highlights the importance of incorporating youth interventions into comprehensive tobacco control programs. Chapter 2 outlines important issues that should be considered when deciding whether to establish a youth tobacco use cessation intervention. It describes the tasks that should be undertaken as part of the planning process, such as conducting needs assessments, engaging stakeholders, and evaluating outcomes. Chapter 3 presents information about different types of interventions, different methods of delivering interventions, and a potentially promising theoretical approach. It includes practical suggestions on how to choose an intervention. Chapter 4 discusses differences among youth that may affect reasons for and patterns of tobacco use and cessation. It also suggests ways to address these differences in the context of an intervention. Chapter 5 provides guidance for conducting process and outcome evaluations. Rigorous evaluations are strongly recommended for all youth tobacco use cessation interventions because of the paucity of evidence of the effectiveness of current efforts. At the end of each chapter, two examples show how one state health department and one rural county school system chose and implemented a youth tobacco use cessation intervention. Each example mirrors the types of activities discussed in the corresponding chapter. The appendix lists additional resources on youth tobacco use cessation interventions and evaluation guidelines.
