• Liza S Rovniak, Marilyn F Johnson-Kozlow, and Melbourne F Hovell.
• Center for Behavioral Epidemiology and Community Health, Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92123, USA. lrovniak@projects.sdsu.edu
• Public Health Rep. 2006 Sep 1; 121 (5): 538-46.

AbstractTobacco use costs approximately dollar 167 billion annually in the U.S., but few tobacco education opportunities are available in schools of public health. Reasons for the discrepancy between the costs of tobacco use and the creation of tobacco training opportunities have not been well explored. Based on the Behavioral Ecological Model, we present 10 recommendations for increasing tobacco training in schools of public health. Six recommendations focus on policy changes within the educational, legislative, and health care systems that influence funds for tobacco training, and four recommendations focus on strategies to mobilize key social groups that can advocate for change in tobacco control education and related policies. In addition, we present a model tobacco control curriculum to equip public health students with the skills needed to advocate for these recommended policy changes. Through concurrent changes in the ecological systems affecting tobacco control training, and through the collaborative action of legislators, the public, the media, and health professionals, tobacco control training can be moved to a higher priority in educational settings.

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