Youth Tobacco Initiatives and Resources

Tobacco-Free School Policy

Healthy Communities of the Capital Area (HCCA) has engaged with several school districts across our Local Service Area (LSA) to improve existing tobacco policies to meet the guidelines outlined in the Partnership for a Tobacco-Free Maine (PTM) guide to Creating and Maintaining a Tobacco-Free School Policy. Schools that revise their existing tobacco policies to meet the PTM guidelines earn the distinction of being a Star School and receive free tobacco-free campus signage. Star Schools in our LSA include:

  • Augusta Public Schools
  • MSAD #11 (Gardiner Area Schools)
  • School Union #42/CSD#10 (Maranacook Area Schools)
  • Winthrop Public Schools

Not On Tobacco Treatment Program for Teens


HCCA has partnered with the American Lung Association of Maine to offer Not On Tobacco (N-O-T) tobacco treatment training to school staff across our LSA . Not On Tobacco was designed specifically as a voluntary, non-punitive program for teens, using a gender-sensitive, 10-session curriculum that includes booster sessions. The sessions are facilitated in schools and other community settings by teachers, school nurses, counselors, and other staff and volunteers specially trained by the American Lung Association of Maine.

Smoke-Free Homes Pledge

HCCA has partnered with the Smoke-Free Housing Coalition of Maine to implement the Smoke-Free Homes Pledge Program across our LSA. Those who take The Smoke-Free Homes Pledge, pledge that they will not smoke in their home, will not permit others to do so, and will choose to smoke outside, if they smoke. The Smoke-Free Homes Pledge Program is designed to raise the awareness of the dangers of secondhand smoke. Once the pledge is signed, a certificate and other supporting items are sent or given to the participant.


No BUTS!

No BUTS! (Blocking Underage Tobacco Sales) is an outreach and training program for retailers designed to promote responsible tobacco sales. The program was created jointly by the Maine State Attorney General's Office and the Partnership for a Tobacco-Free Maine to remind retail employers, managers, and employees that, along with stiff fines and penalties for selling tobacco to underage consumers, there is a compelling public health incentive for blocking tobacco sales to minors.

LifeSkills™ Training Program

HCCA supports implementation of the LifeSkills™ Training Program, a research-based substance abuse prevention program proven to reduce the risks of alcohol, tobacco, drug abuse, and violence by targeting the major social and psychological factors that promote the initiation of substance use and other risky behaviors. HCCA supports LifeSkills™ teacher training and program implementation across our LSA .

Youth Tobacco Resources

Maine Tobacco Helpline
Explanation of the services offered through Maine's free, confidential tobacco treatment Helpline.
1-800-207-1230.

Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
Tobacco advocacy and education.

The Truth Campaign
Interactive website funded by the Legacy Foundation .

Got a Minute? Give it to Your Kids
Campaign to help parents become more involved with their preteens, a behavior that appears to act as a protective factor against the lure of tobacco.

Partnership for a Tobacco-Free Maine
The Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention program responsible for tobacco prevention and control throughout Maine.

American Lung Association of Maine
Lung health promotion and lung disease prevention for Maine.

BADvertising
Doctored-up misleading tobacco ads to create a more accurate picture.

Children Opposed to Smoking Tobacco
Kid-developed site with tobacco education and exposes truth in tobacco advertising

Tobacco Facts
Games, facts, and resources for kids, teachers, and parents.

Tobacco Timeline
History of the tobacco industry from 6000 B.C. to the present.

Ignite
Youth advocacy program that engages in local and statewide advocacy for tobacco policy change.


Our local service area includes: Augusta, Chelsea, Farmingdale, Fayette, Gardiner, Hallowell, Litchfield, Manchester, Monmouth, Mount Vernon, Pittston, Randolph, Readfield, Richmond, Vienna, Wayne, West Gardiner, Windsor, Winthrop.

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