Source: Oakland Tribune Contact: Tue, Dec 29 1997 LOCAL HOSPITALS TEAM WITH TEENS IN ANTI-TOBACCO EDUCATION EFFORT OAKLAND - Youth church groups and local boys and girls clubs are the primary target of a collaborative anti-tobacco education effort launched by Summit Medical Center, Children's Hospital Oakland and Kaiser Permanente. Backed by $5,000 from the Alameda County Tobacco Control Program and $1,000 from the American Cancer Society, the three hospitals designed a media literacy project focused on smoking for children 11 to 14. Next month, eight students will learn to spot deceptive advertising used by tobacco manufacturers to entice young people into smoking, said Patti Miller, public affairs director with Children's Hospital. In pairs, the youth will visit five other teen organizations and become peer educators, teaching their young colleagues how to steer clear of manip- ulative tobacco advertisements. Each will earn a $5 hourly stipend while participating in the main training. Each youth group take pre- and after-tests to determine how much they learned from their peers. "Media literacy has definitely become really big in the last five to 10 years, Miller said. "Media have a lot of influence in people's lives. We would like to expand this to include other public health issues like body image, youth violence arid violence prevention.' The project concludes in May when a 30-second public service announcement about tobacco advertising tactics will air to demonstrate how cigarette manufacturers try to hook teenage smokers. Five young people, selected in addition to the eight chosen as peer educators, will work with a local broadcast consultant to write and produce the spot. Miller said. With a potential to reach thousands of young people, the Oakland Youth Media Literacy Project is filling an unmet need in Alameda County, where public schools lack such educational tools, organizers say. In the fall of 1995. Children's Hospital, Summit and Kaiser formed the East Bay Collaborative to address community health needs. The three hospitals have collaborated on a variety of projects. including the present one on tobacco-use prevention.