Smoke Free Class of 2000 - project for smoke-free society

Pediatrics for Parents, Nov, 1988 by Arlene Evans

Smoke Free Class of 2000 Surgeon General C. Everett Koop has called for a smoke-free Society by the Year 2000. In response, a coalition of the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, and the American Lung Association have pledged to work together to help achieve this goal.

This September, approximately three million children entered the first grade. These children are the future high school graduates of the class of 2000, and as such, have been targeted to become the symbolic ambassadors for a smoke-free society.

The Smoke-Free Class of 2000 project will address participating first grade classes with anti-smoking educational materials developed specifically for them, including resource kits, T-shirts, and buttons. It is an ambitious project that will encompass a 12-year longitudinal study.

We know that more girls than boys are likely to smoke, and those children who plan to go to college are much less likely to smoke. In the class of 1985, almost twice as many high school seniors smoked in the Northeast than in the South. Minorities, especially blacks and hispanics, are more vulnerable to smoking.

What can parents do to help? If your child is one participating in the Smoke-Free Class of 2000 project, you can be an active supporter. But health education in the schools is not enough. Parents need to be aware of the environment that still contains far too many images of smoking as attractive and socially acceptable behavior. Parents can encourage political and community leaders to join the goal of a smoke-free society.

For most young people who use drugs, tobacco has been the gateway drug leading to other drug usage. And the rate of smoking among high school seniors in the past 6 years has remained constant. With your support, the Smoke-Free Class of 2000 project can help reverse this statistic.

Arlene Evans, R.N., is a free lance writer and a frequent contributor to Pediatrics for Parents.