Promote Youth Prevention
ISTEP (Iowa Students for Tobacco Education and Prevention) is Iowa's youth-led tobacco prevention movement. Follow the ISTEP tobacco prevention messages on Facebook and Twitter.
Social media provides a cost effective way for youth to reach other youth in the 'place' where youth are.
About the ISTEP Program
Since 2000, Iowa teens have had an active role in changing the general social attitude toward tobacco use.
After the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA), the Iowa Legislature created the Division of Tobacco Use Prevention and Control within the Iowa Department of Public Health (Iowa Code 142A). The Iowa Legislature stressed the importance of youth involvement in reducing tobacco use among young people. They suggested the best way to do this was to hold an annual Youth Summit on Tobacco.
The first youth summit was held in July 2000 with just over 130 students present. More than a decade later, the youth tobacco prevention program grew to include over 4,000 members statewide. 2011 ushered in a new wave of youth and a new environment for tobacco use prevention and control. That same year ISTEP (Iowa Students for Tobacco Education and Prevention) was created. ISTEP saw the need for continued education on the subject matter of tobacco and held their first youth summit as ISTEP in the summer of 2012, with close to 50 students in attendance. During the last few years, ISTEP has grown to have 2,200+ registered members in local chapters statewide. ISTEP is the only tobacco prevention organization with a youth-led structure, that is changing the tobacco world in Iowa.
To learn more about the ISTEP program, visit the following web address www.IowaSTEP.org
ISTEP Chapter Resource Guide
The Chapter Resource Guide is currently being updated. Estimated time of completion is early August 2018.
The ISTEP Executive Council is youth-led and adult supervised by Iowa Department of Public Health staff. The ISTEP Executive Council consists of students from Iowa who are in the 8-12th grade, these students serve as local and state leaders for the ISTEP program. Anyone who is in the 8th-12th grade can sign up to be a member of the Executive Council. For a list of current Executive Council members, please see our website: https://www.iowastep.org/executive-council
Open Meeting Notice
All meetings of the ISTEP Executive Council are open to the public. See the Events Calendar on our website for more information. If you are interested in seeing agendas or minutes from previous meetings, please call 515.281.6225
Tobacco Compliance Checks
Enforcement of Iowa’s tobacco laws is accomplished through a cooperative agreement between Iowa Alcohol Beverages Division (ABD) and state, county, or local law enforcement agencies. Iowa ABD contracts with agencies for compliance checks at all tobacco retail outlets located within their jurisdiction.
To learn more about ABD's tobacco enforcement program, click here.
Resources