The document discusses the historical context of tobacco use in the United States; the epidemiology of youth tobacco use; consequences of tobacco use; and risk and protective factors. It explains why communities should be concerned about tobacco use, especially by adolescents, and discusses the changing sociological context of tobacco control, the rationale for emphasis on community-based projects, and single and multicomponent projects. It examines the effectiveness of economic interventions, counteradvertising, retailer-directed interventions, multicomponent community approaches, tobacco-free environment policies and advertising and promotion restriction interventions. Finally, it discusses the conceptual framework of the generic implementation action plan and presents the plan step by step. Tables, figures, references, appendixes