Schools are places where students learn inside and outside the classroom – that’s why it’s important to send the right message about tobacco: it is not part of a bright, healthy, and educated future. Allowing tobacco in schools can lead to a number of other negative behaviors, including:

• Smoking marijuana
• Binge drinking
• Fighting on school property
• Getting lower grades
• Skipping class and having poor attendance

Demonstrating positive role modeling by adult employers, visitors, and peers is crucial in the development of positive behaviors in youth. Keeping tobacco out of schools creates the best social and learning environments for students, equipping them with the tools they need to make the healthy choice when faced with tobacco.

Allowing the use, distribution, or even possession of tobacco at school creates a distraction from learning and increases the risk of youth developing an addiction to tobacco at an earlier age. Tobacco-free schools can be achieved through strengthening tobacco policy, which will in turn promote long-lasting and healthy student behaviors.

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