GOAL II: PUBLIC AND COMMUNITY EDUCATION
Texans will have up-to-date knowledge, resources, and skills pertaining to
spit tobacco prevention and cessation.
(note: evaluation activities are included in Goal I)
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Objective
A: Increase the knowledge, enhance the skills, and improve the
practices of public and community educators regarding spit tobacco
education, prevention, and cessation.
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Desired
Results:
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Increased percentage of knowledgeable and skilled public and community
educators who implement effective spit tobacco user identification,
prevention, and cessation strategies. |
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Increased percentage of spit tobacco materials distributed and Texans
counseled on spit tobacco by public and community educators. |
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Decreased percentage of public and community educators using spit
tobacco.
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Strategy
1: Increase the availability and accessibility of affordable
educational offerings for public and community educators which are
designed to address spit tobacco education, epidemiology, health effects,
user identification, risk groups, and prevention and cessation strategies
and services.
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Survey results from Goal I evaluation will guide the development of
educational seminars which meet the training needs of the various groups
of public education throughout Texas. Updated information on spit tobacco
could be incorporated into existing programs or presented separately as
specific ³spit tobacco² seminars.
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Strategy
2: Implement a train-the-trainer initiative for public and
community educators to disseminate spit tobacco prevention and cessation
education to youth and adult influencers.
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Those involved in public and community education would be trained on spit
tobacco subjects by professionals such as tobacco education specialists,
health specialists, dentists, and nurses. The trained educators would then
relay education to youth and adults.
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Strategy
3: Develop profiles of spit tobacco initiators, adult
influencers, and spit tobacco users.
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Public and community educators, who as adult influencers directly and
indirectly serve as role models for youth, can more effectively provide
quality education and services to youth when their own actions are in
accordance with what they teach.
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Objective
B: Facilitate the distribution of spit tobacco prevention and
cessation information.
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Desired
Results:
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Increased percentage of Texans dissuaded from using spit tobacco because
of educational materials, public and community educators, media, and
health care professionals.
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Strategy
1: Utilize the media to educate Texans about the dangers of spit
tobacco use and to minimize the influence of spit tobacco advertising.
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All tobacco control efforts should include spit tobacco. Campaigns
discouraging spit tobacco should convey the message that all forms of
tobacco are unhealthy. Care must always be taken that users of one tobacco
product are not inadvertently persuaded to switch to another tobacco
product that is perceived as a safe alternative.
In recognizing the importance of environmental change, the Committee on
Preventing Nicotine Addiction in Children and Youths has made the
following policy recommendations:
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"Public education programs and messages should be increased and
implemented on a continuous basis to:
a) inform the public about the hazards of tobacco use and of environmental
tobacco smoke and
b) promote a tobacco-free environment; in particular, mass media
campaigns, including paid counter-tobacco advertisements, should be
intensified to reverse the image appeal of pro-tobacco messages,
especially those that appeal to children and youth."[6]
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Strategy
2: Increase the availability and accessibility of affordable
educational offerings for Texans which incorporate the efforts of trained
health care professionals and public and community educators.
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Public education programs, seminars, and trainings can effectively
influence Texans by uniting the skills of both public and community
educators and health care professionals. In joint efforts, health care
professionals can provide technical expertise, while public and community
educators execute educational offerings.
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