IMPORTANT LEGACY NOTICE: Legacy Programs have not been reviewed by the current National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP). The programs in this database were reviewed only under the previous National Registry of Effective Prevention Programs system. This section is intended to be used for historical reference only. If you would like more information about a program listed here, please contact the program developer directly. The program developer of each Legacy Program listed here agreed to post program information on this site.

Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program

Brief Program Description

One of the nation's most comprehensive programs to combat tobacco use is the Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program (MTCP). In 1992 Massachusetts passed a referendum that raised the cigarette tax 25 cents per pack and mandated that the resulting revenue be used for tobacco control and other health promotion efforts. As a result, MTCP was created in 1993 with the goal of reducing "both the number of people who smoke and the amount of tobacco smoked." One of the main thrusts of the MTCP is to prevent young people from initiating smoking and to reduce their access to tobacco.

MTCP funds local communities to help pass ordinances restricting tobacco marketing to youth and the Department of Education funds school-based comprehesive health that includes tobacco education.

Program Strategies

To accomplish the goal, youth smoking prevention, the MTCP fostered youth prevention efforts in the following way:

• Increasing Community enforcement of youth-access provisions
• Including banning free samples
• Requiring permits for tobacco retailers
• Restricting access to vending machines or banning them entirely
• Staging buy attempts by minors
• Funding community-based tobacco prevention programs

Population Focus

The target population of the MTCP is students in Massachusetts public schools, grades 7 through 12.

Suitable Settings

The program is suitable for implementation in urban school systems.

Required Resources

None specified.

Implementation Timeline

The actual survey takes approximately 40 minutes to complete. For the following analyses, the Massachusetts Department of Education administered surveys to a representative sample of students from 1993 to 1999.

Outcomes

Evaluation of this program revealed the following:

• Among middle school students, lifetime smokeless tobacco use exhibited a significant decrease from 1993 to 1996. Males, females, Whites, and students with college plans all exhibited significant declines.
• Youth cigarette smoking significantly declined in Massachusetts from 1995 to 1999. The Massachusetts decline was significantly greater in the younger grades.
• Lifetime smoking shows a declining trend for Massachusetts high school students in 1995-1999.
• Smokeless tobacco use declined significantly from 1995-1999 for high school students in the intervention group when compared to the control group.

Contact Information

For indepth information on this program, please use the contact listed below.

In January 2001, this program was designated as a Promising Program under SAMHSA's previous National Registry of Effective Prevention Programs system.