Right Decisions Right Now Program
We believe that educating youth about the dangers of tobacco, vapor and nicotine product use is the right thing to do. It’s important to our companies’ long-term strategic goal of transforming the nicotine industry. Underage prevention makes good business sense because, as we help the continuing decline in underage cigarette use, all interested parties and the public may gain a greater understanding of our commitment to this issue.
In 1991, we began the “Right Decisions Right Now (RDRN)” underage tobacco prevention program that offers materials to educators, parents, and students in grades 5-9, to provide them with tools to help persuade youth to be tobacco- and nicotine-free by making good decisions. The “Right Decisions Right Now: Be Tobacco Free” program was independently tested nationally and was found to be successful on two key measures: (1) recent smoking levels decreased significantly in test schools, particularly for grades 8-9; and (2) the program lowered anticipated tobacco use among middle school-age students. In addition, students’ susceptibility to peer pressure and their perception of the popularity of tobacco-using peers both showed significant declines versus the control groups. The program also has been updated to include a vapor module.
Today, we continue to support the Right Decisions Right Now program. Reynolds employees are encouraged to present the RDRN program to a youth-focused group and each group is entitled to a grant of $500 – $1,000.