The purpose of the TUPE program is to reduce youth tobacco use by helping young people make healthful tobacco-related decisions through tobacco-specific, research-validated educational instruction and activities that build knowledge as well as social skills and youth development assets. Collaboration with community-based tobacco control programs is an integral part of program planning. The school, parents, and the larger community must be involved in the program so that students will be aware of a cohesive effort and concern for their health and, consequently, their ability to succeed in school.

The Tobacco Use Prevention Education Program Grant will allow each school represented in the application to continue using its science (research) based tobacco use prevention program and activities for the general student population, supplemented with research-based activities and specific interventions including tobacco use cessation programs for current smokers and other targeted student populations.

The California Department of Education’s focus within the Safe and Healthy Kids Program Office is to provide students with the knowledge and skills to enable them to be tobacco-free.  Successful comprehensive tobacco-use prevention, intervention, and cessation programs are an important part of this effort and an effective weapon against four of the five leading causes of death in California:  heart disease, cancer, chronic obstructive lung disease and fires caused by smoking.

Glendale Unified School District’s award will address prevention, intervention and cessation by supporting funding of a Tobacco Use Prevention Education Coordinator at each participating school, who will be responsible for coordinating the TUPE activities including tobacco cessation groups.