Each year, tobacco use causes 3.5 million deaths worldwide, and if current patterns of tobacco use persist, 10 million people will die worldwide from tobacco related causes in the year 2030. More than half of them will live in developing nations. Tobacco also extracts a costly toll in disease, disability, and suffering.    And yet, this death and disability can be preventedbut the battle will not be easily won. Tobacco companies invest vast amounts of money to research and launch advertising campaigns that pitch smoking as romantic, fun, carefree, and sophisticated, luring young people into addiction and keeping them hooked.     Experience has taught us that the best approach to tobacco control is to discourage people from ever starting to smoke. This is particularly critical among adolescents, as more and more young peopleespecially girlsare experimenting with tobacco at ever earlier ages.    The book's first part describes the scope of the tobacco problem in the Region, especially as it affects youth and adolescents. It delves into such issues as tobacco-related illnesses and reviews various approaches for substance-abuse prevention. The second part discusses the application of the "life skills" approach to programs designed to prevent the use of tobacco and other substances. "Life skills" programs have a proven track record: by teaching such skills as self-awareness, stress management, assertiveness, and negotiation, they give yong people the wherewithal to resist social and media pressures to use tobacco. As such, "life skills" programs have become one of the most effective weapons in the anti-tobacco arsenal.    Health professionals, program planners, educators, and policy makers will find here a useful overview of the tobacco situation in the Region, as well as guidelines for the planning and development of "life skills" substance use prevention programs that are tailored to the needs of the Region.

Tobacco-free Youth: "A life skills" primer PDF

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