Alternative to Suspension

Alternative to Suspension (ATS) is a program created through the American Lung Association of North Carolina. ATS is offered to students in violation of their school's tobacco-free policies. The program is conducted outside of regular classroom hours, and offers an opportunity to educate students AbOUT their own tobacco consumption while allowing them to continue regular schooling. ATS is a mandatory program consisting of four sessions of approximately 50 minutes each. This program is meant to compliment the Not On Tobacco (N-O-T) program, also facilitated by the American Lung Association. N-O-T is a voluntary program. Both N-O-T and ATS focus on education and allowing students to make informed, educated decisions regarding their own habits.

Program Outline

ATS is divided into four separate sessions, each with unique goals and information.

Session One

The first session of the ATS program is geared at orientation and creating a comfortable environment in which students and facilitators can interact. The confidence of the sessions is stressed. Basic facts about smoking and tobacco's health consequences are relayed. A series of statistics are discussed in a fact vs. fiction dialogue between instructor and students.

Session Two

The second session focuses on addiction. Students are informed on the various ways nicotine is addictive, and The Effects of addiction over self-control. Students discuss the various triggers that bring about a craving for tobacco, and the role that nicotine plays in their own daily lives. Discussion focuses on how nicotine addiction can influence a teenager's decisions and lifestyle. An exercise is implemented to show the financial impact of nicotine addiction.

Session Three

Session three centers on strategies for coping without tobacco. Alternative activities to smoking and chewing tobacco are given as healthier ways to fulfill the same roles tobacco has previously played. Students are asked to define what it means to live a healthy lifestyle and how abstinence from smoking and other activities can lead to an all around healthier way of living.

Session Four

The fourth session encourages students to look at the big picture. Change towards a tobacco-free lifestyle is put into prospective, and students are asked to understand what change means in their lives and strive to continue the positive trends started in this program. At the end of the final session, students are asked if they would like any additional information or assistance regarding nicotine cessation. Those who are of age are permitted to inquire into the various nicotine replacement therapy programs available.

External links

• http://www.tobaccofreeschoolsnc.org/AltSuspension.pdf - ALA's official course pack with handouts and guidelines. Courtesy of American Lung Association of North Carolina