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To achieve the goals outlined above, DHSS acknowledges that the
following principles are fundamental to policy development,
program planning and implementation:
- Government alone cannot achieve the goals. Achieving
reductions in tobacco use for all New Jerseyans will require that
DHSS work with existing partners and create new ones that can
work together towards this shared vision;
- Changes in human behavior are difficult to achieve, and it is
likely that a sustained, comprehensive effort over a generation
is required to achieve and maintain changes in tobacco use across
all ages and communities;
- Changes in knowledge and attitude precede changes in behavior
and should be expected early in program implementation. Program
evaluation should first focus on measuring changes in knowledge
and attitudes, and then on measuring behavioral change;
- Program design must be evidence-based, building on best
practices in New Jersey and other States;
- Program components must be designed to target populations
most in need of services and those groups which are hardest to
reach;
- Ongoing evaluation of all interventions must be integrated
into program development and implementation to determine if the
interventions are being conducted as planned, to permit
assessment of pre-determined benchmarks and outcomes, and to
allow for course correction; and,
- No program component is exclusive of the others; therefore,
it is imperative to appropriately implement each one as part of
the comprehensive tobacco control program.
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