Tobacco Policy Options for Prevention (TPOP)

 

OVERVIEW

 

The Tobacco Policy Options for Prevention project (TPOP) is a community-based intervention, which aims to mobilize members of a community into rallying for better enforced local ordinances against the sale of tobacco products to minors. The aim of the program is to decrease the accessibility of commercially distributed tobacco products to minors, thereby decreasing tobacco usage. This project was evaluated in 14 Minnesota communities, with 7 serving as control communities and 7 randomly assigned to implement the intervention. Within the experimental communities, leaders were chosen who built teams that worked to modify local ordinances and push for better enforcement of them. Surveys administered to students in the communities before and after (36 months) the intervention showed significantly slower increases in tobacco usage in the intervention cities as well as decrease in students’ perceptions of the accessibility to tobacco from commercial sources but no impact on perceived availability from friends and other people.

 

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

 

Target population: Youth at risk for cigarette smoking

 

The Tobacco Policy Options for Prevention project is a community based initiative designed to decrease adolescent cigarette smoking by changing local policies regarding tobacco sales through community mobilization. The intervention consists of the direct mobilization of individuals in a community to form coalitions through which they can push for more and increasingly well-enforced ordinances regarding tobacco sales to minors.

 

Through letter and petition drives, media campaigns, and tobacco purchase attempts using underage youth, these local coalitions work to raise awareness of youth tobacco accessibility.

 

EVALUATION(S) OF PROGRAM

 

Forster, J.L., Murray, D.M., Wolfson, M., Blaine, T.M., Wagenaar, A.C., & Henrikus, D.J. (1998). The effects of community policies to reduce youth access to tobacco. American Journal of Public Health, 88 (8), 1193-1198.

 

Evaluated population: Students in grades 8-10 in 14 Minnesota communities were surveyed regarding tobacco accessibility and usage before and after the program was implemented. (6014 students in 1993 and 6269 students in 1996) regarding tobacco accessibility and usage. 94% of the surveyed population was white. Data on tobacco sales policies to minors was also collected at tobacco retail outlets within each community.

 

Approach: The evaluation of TPOP used a stratified random design in which 22 Minnesota communities were selected based on having at least 90 students in each of grades 8, 9, and 10, being outside of the area where the Minnesota American Stop Smoking Intervention Study was occurring, and not having changed smoking ordinances recently. Of the 22, 14 communities agreed to participate and were then stratified prior to randomization on the basis of population and baseline student smoking rate (derived from 1993 baseline survey administered to 8-10^th graders in each community).

 

The intervention lasted 32 months, during which a team leader in each community recruited a group of 8-15 individuals who then designed, led, and enforced the intervention. Implementation varied by community because teams drafted their own ordinances using models from various communities. They then marshaled support for the acceptance and enforcement of these ordinances.

 

In addition to smoking rate, the student survey measured students’ perception of the ease and method of tobacco attainment. Tobacco retailers were assessed on their practices and leniency through two researcher-arranged purchase attempts carried out by two 15 year-old girls. Since the intervention occurred at the community level, the community was used as the unit of analysis as opposed to individual students.

 

Results: All 7 intervention communities adopted a comprehensive ordinance aimed at merchant compliance with age-of-sale laws (3 control communities adopted les stringent modifications of their tobacco ordinances). Though tobacco use rates rose across the board, the rate of increase was significantly lower in the experimental communities. Differences in smoking increases between the intervention and control communities averaged between 4 and 7 percent. For monthly and weekly smokers, this trend remained regardless of gender or age. Changes in daily-smoker smoking rates were non-significant, though a trend was found for the younger students.

 

Further, the perceived ability to obtain cigarettes from commercial sources declined significantly more in the intervention communities, as did the proportion of adolescents who reported at least one purchase attempt in the last month. There was also a decrease in the success of tobacco-purchasing attempts made by researchers using underage youth, though not significantly different between experimental and control communities. There was no impact on perceived availability from social sources, such as friends, family, and other persons.

 

 

SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION

 

Link to program curriculum: http://www.socio.com/srch/summary/ysappa/ysa07.htm

 

References

 

Forster, J.L., Murray, D.M., Wolfson, M., Blaine, T.M., Wagenaar, A.C., & Henrikus, D.J. (1998) The effects of community policies to reduce youth access to tobacco. American Journal of Public Health, 88 (8), 1193-1198.

 

 

Program categorized in this guide according to the following:

 

Evaluated participant ages: 14-17 (Grades 8-10) / Program age ranges in the Guide: 12-14, 15-21

 

Program components: community or media campaign

 

Measured outcomes: physical health

 

 KEYWORDS: Adolescence (12-17), Youth (16+), Middle School, High School, Community-based, Community or Media Campaign, Substance Use, Tobacco Use, White or Caucasian, Physical Health

 

Program information last updated 3/16/07

		© Child Trends 2004