Acquisition of smoking refusal skills in junior high school students

This study examined the effects of a smoking prevention program on the acquisition of refusal skills among junior high school students. Two conditions were compared: one in which the subjects participated in a videotaped training program on resisting pressures to smoke, and the other an untreated control group. As predicted, the results showed significant improvement in the skill training group, while the untreated controls showed no change relative to their pretest performance. These findings suggest that smoking prevention programs which focus on resisting social pressures can enhance the young person's ability to say "no" to smoking.