In 1988, 942 (75%) of the 1254 school districts had tobacco control education programs at the elementary level, 1016 (81%) at the intermediate level and 982 (78%) at the secondary level; In 1986, the corresponding proportions were 61% for primary schools, 64% for secondary schools and 62% for high schools. Voluntary health organizations were involved in tobacco education in 74% of school districts. Reporting by: P Smith, Department of Communications, National School Boards Association, Alexandria, Virginia. Epidemiology Br, Office of Smoking and Health and Division of Adolescent and School Health, Centers for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC. The 1990 health goals for the nation include a goal for all 50 states to pass laws banning smoking in enclosed public spaces (5). According to the survey, a completely smoke-free environment for schools was achieved in 17% of school districts. In keeping with its goal of eliminating smoking in public schools, the NSBA has published No Smoking: A Board Member`s Guide to Nonsmoking Policies for the Schools (2), which includes the entire 1986 survey report, outlines implementation steps and guidelines for tobacco control policies, and describes several smoke-free school programs across the country. Editor`s note: Student smoking remains a major public health issue. About 3,000 people — most under the age of 21 — start smoking every day in the U.S. (3.4).
The results that 95% of school districts now have a written smoking policy and that this proportion has increased are encouraging. School smoking bans achieve several objectives: 1) they discourage students from starting to smoke; 2) increase knowledge of the health hazards of smoking and exposure to tobacco smoke in the environment; and 3) they promote a smoke-free environment as the norm. It is particularly important that tobacco policies now target both adults and students. School policies that restrict smoking have always been applied to students, but from 1986 to 1988, the percentage of counties banning smoking for teachers, staff, administrators, and other adults participating in school events increased significantly. Iowa`s Smoke-Free Air Act (Iowa Code 142D) prohibits smoking in school buildings or on school grounds. Specifically, the Act covers school districts and non-public educational institutions by prohibiting smoking in these buildings. The law also prohibits smoking in outdoor spaces on school grounds, including parking lots, sports fields, playgrounds, tennis courts and other outdoor spaces under the control of a public or private educational institution, including in vehicles located on school grounds. Parents and staff are prohibited from smoking anywhere on school property, including in their vehicles. The law is enforced by the Iowa Department of Public Health, including assessing civil penalties for violations.
Of the 1169 districts with written guidelines, 802 (69%) had adopted these policies in the last 6 years. Smoking-related health risks continued to be the reason why most respondents (914/1188 (77%) supported adopting a tobacco control policy, followed by belief in adult models (574/1188 (48%)) and national or local smoke-free laws (525/1188 (44%)). The smoke-free policy was initiated by school authorities (307/1203 (26%)), district administrations (226/1203 (19%)), teachers (156/1203 (13%)), building management staff (143/1203 (12%)), parents (69/1203 (6%)), the municipality (69/1203 (6%)), students (63/1203 (5%)) and others (48/1203 (4%)). In 1988, the National School Boards Association (NSBA), in partnership with the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association and the American Lung Association, conducted a sample survey of 2000 of the more than 15,000 public school districts in the United States to gather information on school tobacco control policies and programs (1); 1310 (66%) of districts responded. A similar study was carried out in 1986 (2). Topics covered in the survey included district smoking policies, school smoking policy development, school tobacco education programs, support to districts through voluntary health organizations, and demographics for each school district.