Let's face it—you think differently than adults. You have different needs and concerns than adults seem to have. You care about things that adults may not understand, and you don't get why adults worry so much about some things. One thing you do have in common with adults is that your body can still be really hurt by tobacco use and secondhand smoke.
Learn the basic facts about tobacco products and why they are so bad for you, how to steer clear of using tobacco products, and how to quit if you do use these products.
Tobacco Use Prevention Resources
These are some website that can help educate you about tobacco and why it is so dangerous to try it—even just one time. These websites are for kids and teens, and are both educational and fun.
Smokefree Teen: With tools to help you make decisions, and the information to make them intelligently, this site is a great resource for teens who currently smoke, who are pressured to smoke, or can't make up their mind about quitting. Note that this site does not discuss nicotine replacement therapy (NRT); if you're interested in finding out more about NRT, talk to your doctor.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Youth Tobacco Prevention: Learn about the dangers of tobacco and why it's important to never start smoking.
US Food and Drug Administration: The Real Cost: This media campaign from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration details what smoking can cost, and offers information on different ways teens can quit smoking.
No Smoking Room: The No Smoking Room is a safe place to help girls live smoke free.
- Project Prevent: SOS Project Prevent is a youth tobacco prevention program through the Arkansas Department of Health's Stamp Out Smoking campaign.
Smoking Stinks: Smoking Stinks highlights the gross things smoking can do to your body. This website also gives helpful hints to help teens stay smoke free, and offers downloads, e-cards, and games to help illustrate its message. There are two sites—one for teens and one for kids.
Truth®: The Truth® Campaign is the largest national youth-focused anti-tobacco education campaign ever. It exposes Big Tobacco's marketing and manufacturing practices, as well as highlighting the toll of tobacco.
Truth Initiative: Youth Activism: This information from Truth Initiative enables youth to make a difference in their communities and schools by offering solutions, ideas, and case studies of successful community partnerships to fight tobacco use.
Video About Preventing Tobacco Use
Quitting Resources
These websites, designed for kids and teens, can help you quit using tobacco products.
SmokefreeTXT: For the teens who would rather get their quit info via text message, SmokefreeTXT sends six weeks of teen-friendly quit texts to their cell phones.
Smokefree Teen: With tools to help you make decisions, and the information to make them intelligently, this site is a great resource for teens who currently smoke, who are pressured to smoke, or can't make up their mind about quitting. Note that this site does not discuss nicotine replacement therapy (NRT); if you're interested in finding out more about NRT, talk to your doctor.
Become an Ex: (Must be 13 or older). Become an Ex uses a systematic program to prepare a customized quit plan and is sponsored by Truth Initiative.
US Food and Drug Administration: The Real Cost: A new media campaign from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration details what smoking can cost, and offers information on different ways teens can quit smoking.
I Quit: Designed for teens, I Quit helps you kick butts. This interactive site offers quit advice, including daily tips, reasons to quit, and advice about what to expect when quitting. The site also has printable quit plans for a cold turkey method and for a countdown method.
I Quit Brochure: Adapted from the Anne Arundel County, Maryland Department of Health, this brochure helps adolescents manage the quitting process, including how to handle the "crazies".
My Last Dip: My Last Dip deals with chewing tobacco users. This site offers participants monetary rewards for participating in online surveys.
Youth Advocacy Networks