Project Smokebuster: Clearing the Air

Project Smokebusters is a three-year program modeled after the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control for children and adolescents. The program is designed to develop a student’s critical thinking skills, to deter them from tobacco use, as well as, train them to be an advocate for tobacco related policy change.

The Kirksville RIII school district was the recipient of a $106,072 grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH) to implement Project Smokebusters. Project Mentors Barbra Rice and Brittany Schultehenrich will use the program to train high school students to be effective role models and teachers who will serve over 2,000 local students. They also seek community-wide tobacco control and/or environmental policy change that support the reduction of tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke. The project objectives are to establish Smokebusters teams committed to the project by teaching them appropriate advocacy and presentation techniques. The youth are trained to counter tobacco advertising and advocate for policy change in order to reduce youth initiation of tobacco use.

The Kirksville Smokebuster’s were actively involved in the push for a local smoking ordinance that went into effect July 1, 2007. These students actively campaigned for the smoke free initiative by reaching out to their parents and peers through speaking at city council meetings, as well as, their homes and schools. The current ordinance affects all area restaurants and bars virtually eliminating secondhand smoke exposure in the public domain. Other student activities include: presenting tobacco education lessons to peers, performing Edu-Dramas at the Kirksville Elementary School, organizing Red Ribbon and Smokebusters week, and attending annual trainings for tobacco education and advocacy.

Smokebusters: An Interactive Approach to Smoking Prevention and Policy ChangeLeslie A. Moss*, Chaeli A. Dougherty, Rebecca N. Verhaeghe, Liz Schulte, and Brittany Schultehenrich

Smokebusters: Educating and Empowering Youth to be Advocates for Policy Change
Mary Ann Reed, BSN RN, Project Smokebusters, reedmtully@yahoo.com, Joyce Lara, BS, joyce.lara@dhss.mo.gov, Lori Moots-Clair, BSN RN, mootsl@lpha.dhss.mo.gov.