This guide was written for physicians who might be interested in working with school-aged children in the area of tobacco use intervention. It briefly describes the physician's role in providing health education to students in the school setting and notes the effectiveness of health education in the schools in reducing the number of students who start smoking. Statistics are provided on the number of children who smoke, age of onset, and types of tobacco use. The schools are recognized as an excellent site for reaching children from all social and ethnic groups. Prevention strategies discussed include the physician spending time in the classroom; working to form a school health education advisory committee; encouraging the planning, implementation, and evaluation of anti-tobacco efforts; promoting teacher in-service training; and using other planning resources. Skill development, peer leadership, and family involvement are cited as important criteria to consider in choosing a school's anti-tobacco curricula. Physicians are provided with several step-wise strategies to use when speaking to children and adolescents about tobacco use. The guide concludes with a sample of curricula available for smoking intervention in school settings. The curricula are grouped by grade level and are accompanied by a short statement on age-appropriate developmental characteristics. (NB)