Youth Initiative Program

CEASE partners recognize that tobacco use is the result of a multitude of social and economic influences - influences that especially impact our youth. The array of cigarette advertising, bursting with primary colors and easy to read type, is attractive to a youth market and is pervasive in their everyday lives. Family members and peers who smoke serve as unwitting models for the normalization of tobacco use. Would it be possible to create a meaningful interruption to the perceived "normalcy" of smoking that would resonate with young people? That challenge led CEASE to collaborate with the Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD) to create Photo voice, an innovative, immersive project that encouraged young people to portray the effects of smoking in their own communities through photographs and narratives. In this project, students from partner middle schools were enrolled into two Photo voice projects following a seven week leadership training program. Students took photos of real-life situations related to tobacco use and described their feelings about the impact on their community. Students were thoughtful and precise, covering a wide range of issues from corner store advertising to litter and third-hand smoke. Photo voice exhibitions were held in each of the schools, and participants presented their insights on the harmful effects of nicotine addiction.