FOR RELEASE: March 14, 2000
CONTACT: Dick Gunn
405/271-5601

State Health Department Provides Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation Information on Web Site

Where can you go to find:

• how Oklahoma can reduce its youth smoking rate like the state of Florida has?
• how many Oklahoma teens under age 18 have become new daily smokers since the multistate tobacco settlement was signed in November 1998?
• actual tobacco industry documents that discuss strategy for a children's video to advertise Camel cigarettes?
• Oklahoma laws pertaining to tobacco use?
• general tobacco information and links to state organizations and agencies as well as federal agencies and national organizations that provide a wealth of information on tobacco and youth, secondhand smoke, and smokeless tobacco?

The Oklahoma State Department of Health has made all this information available for the public through new pages posted by the Office of Tobacco Use Prevention on the state health department's Web site. The new Web pages outline each of the four "cornerstones" of effective tobacco use prevention and cessation programs including: community-based activities, classroom education, counter-marketing media campaigns, and cessation assistance.

The "Four Cornerstones" model was endorsed recently by the Oklahoma Tobacco Use Prevention Science Advisory Council, a group of Oklahoma experts from various health and behavioral fields.

Also included is full documentation of the evidence of success of comprehensive tobacco use prevention and cessation programs from other states such as Florida, California and Massachusetts. The easy-to-navigate Web site is located at www.health.state.ok.us.

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