"Making A Difference" is a peer-led smoking prevention program aimed at community youth group members. The program's goal is to equip young people with the information and skills needed to make responsible choices about smoking. Through this program, senior youth group members are trained to deliver three 60 minute smoking prevention sessions, to junior youth group members. Allied Youth is the community youth group responsible for the coordination and implementation of this program.

Allied Youth (A.Y.) is an international organization that provides members with an opportunity to explore and take action on issues affecting young people. It has 1100 members in 23 posts throughout Newfoundland & Labrador. A.Y. is sponsored by Addictions Services, a division of the Dept. of Health and Community Services. As an organization dedicated to the issues affecting young people, A.Y. has decided to take an active role in the prevention of smoking among our youth.

Young people today are faced with many challenges, one of which is the decision about smoking. According to the Canadian Council on Smoking and Health:

• Tobacco companies make approximately $260 million a year from children's purchases in Canada.
• Ninety percent of those who start smoking are children or teenagers.
• Approximately 28% of teenage girls in Canada use tobacco daily.

Although young people understand that smoking is bad for them, many are starting to smoke because of social influences that encourage smoking. These influences include friends, siblings and parents who smoke and advertisements that make smokers look attractive, athletic, and popular.

The junior group members, participating in the sessions, will be given an opportunity to make their own informed decisions about smoking before they are placed in a pressure situation. They will have the chance to discuss and practice refusal skills and learn how to recognize influencers to smoke. The Peer Leaders, through a weekend training workshop, are given an opportunity to develop skills and examine their own attitudes and behaviours related to smoking. They see that by being a positive role model they can "make a difference" in their community.

Over the years, the Peer-Led approach has proven effective as older peers are seen as credible and trustworthy sources of information and youth listen to and are influenced by their peers.

Youth groups provide an excellent opportunity to address smoking issues because there is no pressure to achieve grades, their membership is voluntary and the group setting provides an enjoyable and relaxed atmosphere to experiment with role plays and discuss smoking related issues.

A.Y. is interested in sharing this program with other youth groups. As a youth group you can become involved in one of two ways: (1) senior group members could be trained at a weekend workshop to deliver the sessions to younger group members or (2) if your group membership is young (13 and under) you could request to have a peer leader come into your group to deliver the sessions.

For additional information, please contact one of the following Addictions Services Offices.