It might come as a surprise to you to learn that education plays a critical role in our ongoing efforts to help prevent youth smoking. After all, why should a tobacco company want children to learn about the dangers of cigarettes?

Well, this is a serious issue for us. We recognize that young people are vulnerable to peer pressure, that smoking may appear glamorous and "cool" to them, and that legal restrictions are not always enough to stop them smoking.

That's why we believe that young people should be educated to: understand that smoking is addictive and causes serious diseases such as lung cancer and heart disease think independently and resist peer pressure be assertive and make their own decisions decide against smoking

Of course, we're not education experts, and you won't find us in classrooms. But we do provide financial support to the ongoing efforts of teachers, community groups, youth specialists and health ministries in over fifty countries who have created, implemented, and continue to monitor, a series of educational programmes aimed at preventing youth smoking.

These programmes, and others like them, are aimed at empowering young people with information, educating them about healthy lifestyles, and encouraging them to decide against smoking.

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