Alcohol, Tobacco & Drug Use Research Proposal

S. provide funds for staff development on drug use and alcohol use by school-age children. But only 26% of elementary school classes and required middle school and high school health education courses had a teacher that had received "staff development on alcohol or other drug-use prevention" (SHIPPS). Still, SHIPPS reports that 91.4% of high schools and 80.4% of middle schools surveyed teach the "benefits of not using alcohol" and 90.3% of high schools and 79.4% of middle schools teach the "benefits of not using illegal drugs." These data are based on schools that have "required instruction" in those areas of health education.

An article in the Journal of School Health (Summerlin-Long, 2008) details "tobacco-free school" (TFS) policies; the article references "positive reports" from "key informants" in 46 school districts in North Carolina that had passed TFS policies between December 2001 and August 2005. This article is particularly pertinent because of North Carolina's cultural and economic history of "dependence on tobacco"; indeed, as of August 2007, 88 out of the 115 school districts in North Carolina had adopted TFS policies (including classroom education and "alternatives-to-suspension" programs). Clearly the adoption of TFS policies in school districts nationwide is necessary, given that once an adolescent becomes addicted to nicotine, it's extremely difficult to quit.

Works Cited

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Johnson, Andrew O, Mink, Michael D., Harun, Nusrat, Moore, Charity G., Martin, Amy

B., & Bennett, Kevin J. (2008). Violence and Drug Use in Rural Teens: National

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Monti, Peter M. (2007). Study: Teens talk drugs on the Internet. The Brown University…