Word of Mouth is a tobacco prevention program that was developed by the American Lung Association of Ohio and the Cleveland Clinic Health System. An American Lung Association Best Practice in Tobacco Control, Word of Mouth is a school based smoking prevention program for youth. The overall goal of the program is to reduce teen smoking rates by changing their behaviors and attitudes toward smoking. It targets students in grades four through eight, a time when children are most likely to experiment with tobacco.

A trained health educator implements this school-based program by teaching four lessons per grade each year. In addition to teaching the health effects of tobacco use, age-appropriate lessons help students to build refusal, decisionmaking and goal setting skills.

Word of Mouth also can be taught through self-paced, Web-based lessons, which are adapted from the traditional lesson plans. In addition to providing tobacco education, students receive valuable computer skills. Fourth and fifth grade lessons are currently available, and additional lessons and online resources are being developed.

While school programs are valuable, your children need YOU to talk them about the dangers of tobacco use. Visit the Word of Mouth website at www.ccf.org/health/wordofmouth for additional resources.