Most young smokers want to quit smoking, but are unable to succeed on their own. Not On Tobacco (N-O-T) is a state-of-the-science, school-based program that provides assistance to teens who wish to quit smoking. The program covers the entire quitting process, including the prevention of relapses.

The Need for Teen Tobacco Cessation:

• Nearly 90 percent of all smokers begin before the age of 18.
• Over 70 percent of high school students who are regular smokers have tried to quit.
• Many adolescents fail to understand the personal risk of smoking, including nicotine addiction. Over 70 percent of teens who smoked during high school were still smoking five years later.
• Schools are enacting tobacco-free policies, but face difficult enforcement issues. Smoking on school property continues to be a problem, and often results in punishment, instead of cessation assistance.

Effective Solutions

• Modeled after the highly successful FREEDOM FROM SMOKING program, the 10-session N-O-T curriculum was created to help high school students:
1. stop smoking, or reduce the number of cigarettes smoked
2. increase healthy lifestyle behaviors and
3. improve life skills.
• The program is gender-sensitive and is implemented by teachers, counselors, nurses or health educators.
• N-O-T allows schools to provide an educational alternative instead of punitive measures. Thereby the students meet the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and reduce policy violations.
• Early findings show significant reduction and cessation among teens, as well as higher school grades and enhanced self-esteem.

For more information on the N-O-T program, please call the American Lung Association of Illinois at 800-LUNG-USA.