Youth

Each year in Massachusetts, about 7,000 young people become new daily smokers. Preventing youth from starting to smoke makes a lot of sense.  If no more young people in Massachusetts started smoking, about 117,000 youth alive today would be saved from disability and death caused by tobacco use.

Preventing youth from starting to smoke takes the whole community. Schools, tobacco retailers, other youth, and concerned adults are all part of the solution.

Everyone can play a part in helping young people avoid using tobacco products. If you are a parent or guardian, student, teacher, athletic coach, school administrator or board member, health professional, or anyone else who cares about the health of young people, here are some steps you can take to make a difference in their lives.

Everyone can:

• Teach young people that using cigarettes, cigars, and smokeless tobacco (snuff or chew) puts them at risk for health problems and addiction.
• Voice your support for tobacco-free schools and effective tobacco-use prevention education to school administrators and board members.
• Encourage merchants to limit the number of tobacco ads in their stores, remove self-service displays, and comply with the law by checking IDs and refusing to sell tobacco products to minors.
• Ask merchants and managers of hotels and restaurants to locate vending machines where they will not be accessible to young people.
• Speak at a meeting or submit a letter to a local newspaper to discuss the importance of clean indoor air restrictions and policies that limit young people's access to tobacco products.
• Encourage coordination between school and community programs to prevent tobacco use and addiction.