Lewis and Clark Public Health was awarded a reACT grant for a Tobacco Product Prevention Campaign focused on Cessation Promotion and e-cigarettes.  reACT is Montana’s teen-led movement taking action to become the first-ever tobacco-free generation. reACT teens are Active, Dedicated, and Empowered!

reACT works to:

• Create a tobacco-free generation!
• Encourage teens to live a tobacco-free life!
• Empower teens to stand up against the Tobacco Industry, which targets their generation!

With this grant LCPH held a contest for all local high school students in Lewis and Clark, and Broadwater Counties. Our goal was to hold a social media advertisement contest, designed to create an ad campaign to prevent the use of e-cigarettes among teens. We wanted a campaign created by teens for teens. These ads will run through the summer of 2021, ads will be placed on Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat to reach teens where they are at.

We had 65 total participants from Helena High, Broadwater High School, and Capital High. We selected winners for 1^st through 4^th place, winners received Visa gift cards ranging from $25-100. Congratulations to all of the winners!

Prevent Tobacco Use Among Youth People

• Help us create Montana’s first Tobacco Free generation! Learn more at reACT !
• Most tobacco products are bought in gas stations and grocery stores where the industry focuses the majority of its marketing efforts, and targets youth. Point-of-sale strategies can reduce exposure to tobacco products and advertising in stores. Learn more at Montana Tobacco Retailer Mapper.
• E-cigarettes are now the MOST commonly used tobacco product among Montana's teens. More than HALF of Montana high school students have tried e-cigarettes. ONE in THREE Montana high school students currently use e-cigarettes. Learn more at Youth E-cigarette Use: A Montana Epidemic.
• Big Tobacco targets kids with; flavors, marketing, and new gimmicks. Learn more at Big Tobacco Targets Kids!
  • E-cigarettes come in over 15,500 different flavors, like cotton candy, skittles, O.M.G. and unicorn puke. Most (96%) youth e-cigarette users started with a flavored product. 70% of youth e-cigarette users report flavors as the reason they use e-cigarettes.
  • The tobacco industry spends $27.7 million each year in Montana promoting their products. E-cigarettes are advertised using celebrity endorsements, cartoon characters, sport and event sponsorships and social media influencers. In 2019, 70% of U.S. middle and high school students had been exposed to e-cigarette marketing.
  • The new generation of e-cigarette products, like JUUL, have a sleek, high-tech design and are easy to conceal. Some e-cigarettes can be dressed up and customized with colorful sleeves and accessories. E-cigarette companies have come out with products that are disguised as sweatshirts and watches.

Eliminate Exposure to Secondhand Smoke

The Montana legislature passed the Clean Indoor Air Act (CIAA), one of the most important public health policies in state history, in 2005. The law requires all enclosed public places and workplaces, including work vehicles, or vehicles that serve as a place of work, and vehicles accessible to the public, such as taxis and buses to be smokefree; and it requires businesses to prominently place smokefree signs on all public entrances. The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services has adopted these rules.

The health benefits of the Clean Indoor Air Act are three-fold:

1. Patrons and workers alike are protected from the deadly health effects of secondhand smoke exposure.
2. More people who smoke will try to quit.
3. Fewer Montana youth will begin smoking.

You Can Report CIAA Complaints Here  

Smokefree Housing

The Montana Clean Indoor Air Act (MCIAA) does not regulate smoking in individual apartments; however, landlords have the right to implement smokefree policies. The Housing and Urban Development Department implemented a smokefree rule, requiring all HUD funded units go smokefree by 2018. Also, many private landlords implement smokefree policies in their multi-unit housing facilities to protect their tenants from the dangers associated with smoking. Check out the Five Reasons to go Smokefree.

Tobacco-Free Events

Tobacco-free events foster a healthy environment and model healthy behaviors for the youth who attend. The Montana Tobacco Use Prevention Program offers a model tobacco-free event policy and assistance to any organization that wishes to implement a tobacco-free policy.

Tobacco-Free Parks

Tobacco-free parks promote positive community role modeling and protect the health, safety, and welfare of community members. Secondhand smoke levels in outdoor public places can reach levels as high as those found in indoor facilities where smoking is permitted. Helena currently has Tobacco Free City Parks. "Why You Want Tobacco-Free Parks in Your Community" Infographic.

Tobacco-Free Worksites

Worksite wellness programs and policies have a substantial impact on health care costs, absenteeism, workers compensation costs, and productivity.  If you are interested in finding out more on how to build or strengthen the worksite wellness program, including implementing a tobacco-free workplace policy at your worksite please visit Montana's Worksite Wellness webpage.