Hazard Riley, Lines Shannon, Lu Kelsey, Ablah Elizabeth
Department of Population Health, University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, Wichita, KS.
Kansas, Department of Health and Environment, Topeka, KS.
Kans J Med. 2022 Apr 29;15(1):127-130. doi: 10.17161/kjm.vol15.15916. eCollection 2022.
In 2019, 25.8% of Kansas high school youth reported using any form of tobacco product. Schools can prevent and reduce youth tobacco use by adopting comprehensive tobacco policies, which include all tobacco products, on school grounds and at school-sponsored, off-campus events, for all individuals at all times, and integrate cessation services for students who violate the tobacco policy. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of comprehensive tobacco policies in unified school districts (USD) across Kansas to determine how many schools have adopted such policies.
All 286 USDs in Kansas were eligible to participate in this study including elementary, middle, and high schools. Participating schools were asked to upload their policies to a website developed by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). Frequencies and percentages were computed to identify the type of tobacco products prohibited, the locations where tobacco use is prohibited, who is prohibited from using tobacco, when tobacco is prohibited, and consequences of students' violation of the tobacco policy.
Several USD policies met some of these comprehensive recommendations; however, 97.9% (n = 280) did not. In other words, 2.1% of USD policies (n = 6) were comprehensive in Kansas. Most districts (98.3%, n = 281) presented policies prohibiting use of all forms of tobacco for students, but policies often offered more leniency for faculty/staff and visitors. Fewer districts presented policies prohibiting use of all tobacco products for staff/faculty (73.1%, n = 209) and visitors (45.8%, n = 131) of policies.
Nearly all USDs in Kansas have an opportunity to strengthen their tobacco policies. Relatively simple edits can be made to prohibit all tobacco products, prohibit use on school grounds and at school-sponsored, off-campus events, ensure these policies apply to everyone, at all times, and integrate cessation resources for students who violate the tobacco policy.
2019年，堪萨斯州25.8%的高中青年报告使用过任何形式的烟草制品。学校可通过采用全面的烟草政策来预防和减少青年烟草使用，这些政策涵盖所有烟草制品，适用于校园内以及学校主办的校外活动中的所有人员，且适用于任何时间，并为违反烟草政策的学生提供戒烟服务。本研究的目的是确定堪萨斯州统一学区（USD）中全面烟草政策的普及率，以确定有多少学校采用了此类政策。
堪萨斯州的所有286个统一学区（包括小学、初中和高中）均有资格参与本研究。参与研究的学校被要求将其政策上传至堪萨斯州卫生与环境部（KDHE）开发的网站。计算频率和百分比，以确定被禁止的烟草制品类型、禁止使用烟草的地点、禁止使用烟草的人员、禁止使用烟草的时间以及学生违反烟草政策的后果。
一些统一学区的政策符合其中一些全面建议；然而，97.9%（n = 280）的政策不符合。换句话说，堪萨斯州2.1%的统一学区政策（n = 6）是全面的。大多数学区（98.3%，n = 281）出台了禁止学生使用所有形式烟草的政策，但政策通常对教职员工和访客更为宽松。较少学区出台了禁止教职员工（73.1%，n = 209）和访客（45.8%，n = 131）使用所有烟草制品的政策。
堪萨斯州几乎所有的统一学区都有机会加强其烟草政策。可以进行相对简单的修订，以禁止所有烟草制品，禁止在校园内和学校主办的校外活动中使用，确保这些政策在任何时候都适用于所有人，并为违反烟草政策的学生整合戒烟资源。
