Tobacco and Alcohol Prevention

Project Directors: Robert McDermott, Ph.D. and Moya Alfonso, Ph.D.
Location: Sarasota County, Florida

This project is a joint effort between USF, the Sarasota County Health Department, and a community board representing 35 organizations and citizens "at-large" to prevent the initiation of smoking and alcohol consumption among middle school students. The community board adopted the name Community-Based Prevention Marketing (CBPM) Community Advisory Committee (CAC) to emphasize its interest in using the CBPM framework. The CAC worked with FPRC personnel to conduct formative research with youth and parents and used the results to develop a comprehensive social marketing plan. The multifaceted marketing plan was a blueprint for program development directed at the primary audience -- middle school students -- and secondary audiences -- middle school students' parents, teachers and administrators, and other youth-oriented community organizations. The resulting intervention, the Believe in All Your Possibilities campaign, includes six intervention strategies: (1) law enforcement tobacco and alcohol citations; (2) tobacco education for youth who receive a tobacco citation; (3) 100% smoke free schools; (4) a parent-oriented video addressing parents' self-efficacy for communication and control of children's tobacco and alcohol use; (5) use of a Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test module on tobacco and alcohol for teachers; and (6) a teen theater production (End of Summer)to enhance refusal skills. A mini-grant process was also implemented for community agencies to seek funds to develop and implement activities that complemented the social marketing plan. Though specific activities were funded by numerous community sources, they are linked by the social marketing plan to form a comprehensive, coordinated behavior change intervention. Program implementation, evaluation activities, and efforts to expand and sustain the intervention are ongoing.

Sarasota Prevention Research Center Staff:
    Susan Calkins, Prevention Marketing Coordinator
    Liz Bumpus, Divison Director for Promotion and Planning
    William Little, Administrator

Believe in all your Possibilities
A community-based alcohol & tobacco prevention program for Sarasota County youth.

Sarasota Community Advisory Committee
Sarasota Community Advisory Committee (PDF)
Sarasota Youth Tobacco Community Advisory Committee Principles (PDF)

Downloadable Files in PDF Format: