The D.A.R.E./Tobacco Control Program is a drug abuse prevention education program designed to equip elementary, intermediate, and high school students with skills for resisting peer pressure to experiment with alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. It is an integral component of a community's drug prevention program. D.A.R.E. utilizes uniformed law enforcement officers to teach the formal D.A.R.E. curriculum to students. These D.A.R.E. instructors serve as role models for impressionable youth while providing awareness of the dangers of alcohol, tobacco, other drugs, and violence. Furthermore, D.A.R.E. officers help students deal with anger, peer pressure, and disagreements by imparting nonviolent conflict resolution alternatives to violent behavior. In addition, the D.A.R.E. officer plays a significant role with regard to the prevention of tobacco use through such efforts as seeking merchant compliance and enforcement of state laws prohibiting sales of tobacco to anyone under 18 years of age. D.A.R.E. also seeks to reduce tobacco consumption by working with other prevention programs in educating our youth about the hazards of tobacco, limiting youth access to tobacco, and reducing exposure to second-hand smoke at work sites and public spaces. To this end, D.A.R.E. officers pledge to work toward the goal of a smoke free community.