Expectations of preschool children to protect themselves from cigarette smoke: results of a smoking prevention program for preschool children

Abstract

Because preschoolers and first graders show signs of readiness to try smoking and because they are already learning about smoking through their environment, smoking prevention at the preschool level is appropriate. The large numbers of children seen in primary care practices and day care facilities are indicative of the numbers that could be exposed to smoking prevention instruction through these settings. This study assessed the future expectations of children to protect themselves from sidestream smoke after participating in a preschool smoking prevention program offered in four primary care settings. Through this program, children and their parents read stories and complete activities concerning the human body and the health risks of smoking. Using a randomized posttest-only case control design, the authors found that children who were exposed to the curriculum were more than twice as likely as others to report the intention to act to protect themselves from adult sidestream smoke.