Programs aimed at helping young people "just say no" to cigarettes should focus on developing the skills they need to resist social pressures, a new study shows.
Published in the October 1999 Journal of School Health, the study suggests that simply telling students about the health consequences of smoking isn’t enough.
"The smoking prevention programs that work go beyond the simple delivery of health information," said Rick Petosa, Ph.D., co-author of the study and an associate professor of health promotion at The Ohio State University in Columbus.
"The successful programs," he said, "focus on social pressures and on developing the skills necessary to resist those pressures. Other researchers have found that these kinds of programs can cut the rate at which adolescents begin to smoke by 30 to 50 percent. In light of the recent tobacco settlements, policy makers would be wise to note that it is the skills-based programs that work to prevent smoking."
About one in four ninth graders smoke, and 85 percent of all smokers start lighting up before the age of 18 years.
As noted in a news release from Ohio State, Dr. Petosa and his colleagues examined the effectiveness of the Minnesota Smoking Prevention Program, a six-lesson program that addresses the social pressures to smoke.
Students from five sixth-grade classes attended 45-minute sessions twice a week for three weeks. During each session, student leaders facilitated small group discussions and activities with other classmates. The students evaluated cigarette advertisements and role-played various peer-pressure situations.
"The smoking prevention program had a significant impact on the students’ confidence in their abilities to say no," said Dr. Petosa. "It also increased their belief that their peers would think that the decision not to smoke was an acceptable one."
Despite their heightened social skills, the study showed that students still worried about how their peers would react to their decision.
"Kids have real social concerns about the negative consequences of refusing an offer from their peers," said Dr. Petosa. "While this program was not able to change that, it did reinforce students’ existing levels of skill and confidence in refusing cigarettes."
