Tobacco Industry Youth Smoking Prevention Programs

This article is part of the Tobacco portal on Sourcewatch funded from 2006 - 2009 by the American Legacy Foundation.

Tobacco Industry Youth Smoking Prevention Programs

There is a substantial evidence in the tobacco industry documents that the industry uses "youth smoking prevention programs" and "life skills" training to deflect legislative and regulatory efforts to reduce smoking, and for public relations purposes, rather than out of concern for youth smoking rates. According to industry documents, these programs are designed to impress political leaders and give the appearance that the industry is being "responsible" on the issue of youth smoking.

Tobacco industry "youth smoking prevention" programs

• Helping Youth Decide
• Action Against Access
• It's the Law
• Support the Law--It Works
• Helping Youth Say No
• We Card
• Right Decisions Right Now
• Responsible Living

Tobacco industry documents about youth smoking prevention programs

• Penalty-for-purchase legislation (Promotion of legislation to criminalize children for purchasing tobacco)
• Tobacco industry activity in Rhode Island (Discusses "defensive legislation" that is "intended to dissipiate the energies of the anti-tobacco forces")
• Tobacco Institute Youth Smoking Prevention Program Discussion Paper on youth smoking prevention programs (Tobacco Institute, 1990)
• Proposal for an industry youth program (Tobacco Institute proposal from 1982, complains that anti-smoking ads produced by public health entities portray smoking as "unhealthy" and "repugnant")

Published papers on tobacco industry youth smoking prevention programs

• Avoiding “Truth”: Tobacco Industry Promotion of Life Skills Training Journal of Adolescent Health, December 2006
• Anne Landman, Pam Ling, Stanton Glantz Tobacco Industry Youth Smoking Prevention Programs: Protecting the Industry and Hurting Tobacco Control American Journal of Public Health. 2002 June; 92(6): 917–930