Evaluation of the school-based smoking-prevention program "BE smokeFREE"

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Adolescent Health
• Health Behavior Interventions

Background:

• Adolescent smoking remains a significant public health concern.
• School-based programs are a key strategy for smoking prevention.
• The social influence model is a theoretical basis for effective interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of the school-based smoking prevention program "BE smokeFREE".
• To compare the effectiveness of different intervention intensities on adolescent smoking.
• To assess the long-term effects of a comprehensive social influence-based program.

Main Methods:

• A national representative sample of 99 schools and 4,441 students participated.
• Schools were randomized into a comparison group and three intervention groups (varying comprehensiveness).
• Data were collected at baseline and three follow-ups (1994-1997) using multilevel logistic regression.

Main Results:

• No baseline differences in smoking habits were observed between groups.
• The most comprehensive intervention (Group B) showed significantly more favorable changes in smoking habits.
• At the third follow-up, weekly smoking was 19.6% in the comprehensive group versus 29.2% in the comparison group.
• Less comprehensive interventions were less effective than the model intervention.

Conclusions:

• The comprehensive school-based "BE smokeFREE" intervention effectively reduced adolescent smoking rates.
• A social influence approach integrated into a comprehensive program is effective for smoking prevention.
• Intervention intensity, including teacher training and parental involvement, impacts program effectiveness.