CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION
Volume 14 • Number 3 • Fall 2001

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Helping Kids Say 'No' to Tobacco, 'Yes' to Sports

Because youth sports are so popular in America, they are an ideal way for public health departments to reach U.S. youth with information about tobacco use, physical activity, and good nutrition. Athletes and coaches can be strong role models for kids, and increasingly they are willing to work with health departments to promote tobacco-free sports. 

"CDC works with a wide range of partners to support sports-related media and education programs targeting children and teens," said Katy Curran, MS, ATC, CSCS, CDC health communicator. For example, 10 states receive CDC funds that have allowed them to expand their SmokeFree Soccer programs by establishing partnerships with community-based soccer organizations and public health groups. These states meet regularly to share the lessons they have learned through their tobacco-free sports programs. 

Health departments should consider the many different ways they can make sports part of their tobacco control programs, Ms. Curran advised. Some health departments are promoting policies that prohibit tobacco use at sporting events. Others are teaming up with youth coaches to educate kids at special events, such as sports clinics. Another effective strategy is to recruit celebrity athletes, who can be powerful role models for kids and help health departments reach a large and diverse audience with their tobacco control messages. The following examples are just some of the creative ways that health departments are using sports to tackle tobacco use among children.

Tobacco-Free Policies in Rhode Island 
In Providence, Rhode Island, the Youth Sports Initiative helps other communities promote tobacco-free policies. Staff with the Rhode Island Department of Health's Tobacco Control Program have teamed up with the American Lung Association of Rhode Island and the Rhode Island Recreation and Parks Association to develop an action kit that includes model tobacco-free policy statements and town ordinances, along with advice on organizing a community to be tobacco-free, media advocacy tips, and a list of national sports resources. 

Spotlight on Teen Advocates in Phoenix 
Through the Phoenix Suns Benchwarmer Program, the Arizona Tobacco Education and Prevention Program shines a spotlight on teen-agers who have been advocates against tobacco use in their communities. Teens and their chaperones receive center court recognition by a Phoenix Suns player during pregame activities. They also sit behind the players' bench throughout the game. This is one of many ways the Arizona Department of Health Services is promoting its tobacco-free messages to kids. 

Celebrity Role Models in Lincoln 
Tri-City Storm hockey players have teamed up with the Nebraska Health and Human Services System, Nebraska Buffalo County Tobacco Free Coalition, and Buffalo County Community Health Partners. The Tri-City Storm athletes appear in a poster that declares, "Hockey, Yes! Tobacco, No!" They distribute the posters at schools and special events. In addition, the coalition sponsors Storm games and produces related public service announcements, radio advertisements, and billboards.

Athletes can be persuasive advocates for a tobacco-free lifestyle. Oregon State running back Ken Simenton is one of numerous sports stars urging youth not to use tobacco.

Do These Programs Work? 
Without question, sports are an effective way to reach youth with vital health information, said Ms. Curran. "Through program evaluation, we have shown that many of these tobacco-free sports activities are having an impact on kids' use of tobacco." 

The American Heart Association Youth Fitness and Tobacco Education/ Prevention Program is a good example. The program, administered by the Florida Department of Health and Florida State University, aims to improve the overall health of children statewide by increasing the amount of time students in schools participate in regular fitness activities, reducing the number of kids who currently use or eventually will use tobacco, and reducing the number of kids who are exposed to secondhand smoke. The health department hired a team of professional evaluators who tested students before and after the project to assess how increased fitness activities affected tobacco use. 

The evaluation's findings revealed significant improvements in the children's health, fitness, and knowledge. For example, 

• Of all students who were smokers before the program, 36.7% of those in high school, 60% of those in middle school, and 100% of those in elementary school had quit smoking when they were surveyed after the program. 

• Knowledge about the harms of tobacco use increased 9.3% among elementary students who participated in the fitness program for 1 year, and no such increase occurred for the comparison groups. 

• Knowledge about the harms of tobacco use increased 26% among elementary students who had participated in the fitness program for 2 years. 

After reviewing 2 years of evaluation results, the evaluators offered several recommendations for improving the program. For example, they advised the health department to expand the program by adding additional sites so that more students could be exposed to the messages, materials, and activities. The evaluators also recommended that the program begin early in the fall for two reasons: the schools could order equipment and supplies sooner, and the students could benefit from a year-long program.

CDC's Tobacco-Free Sports Playbook features athletes from a variety of sports.

CDC Materials Available 
To help health departments and others in their sports-related media and education programs targeting youth, CDC provides free sports posters, fact sheets, ads, and other materials. Also available are a SmokeFree Soccer logo, a PBS teen documentary called Soccer . . Kickin' Butts, and the SmokeFree Soccer Coach's Kit, which features creative and fun drills that coaches can use to boost young players' soccer skills and teach them about the harm that smoking can have on their bodies and their athletic performance. A new CDC resource, The Tobacco-Free Sports Playbook, includes examples of what health departments, youth coaches, educators, and others are doing to promote tobacco-free sports. The book covers tobacco-free sports policies, campaigns featuring sports celebrities, stadium events, educational materials, and evaluations.

For more information about SmokeFree Soccer materials, visit www.smokefree.gov. To order or download CDC materials, go to www.cdc.gov/tobacco or call 1/770/488-5705 and press 3.

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This page last reviewed August 10, 2004

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