Two-year behavior outcomes of project towards no tobacco use

Abstract

The article presents 2-year follow-up data from a school-based tobacco use prevention project designed to test the effectiveness of 3 primary components in social influence programs. The components either teach refusal skills, awareness of social value misperceptions, or physical consequences. Curricula were tested with a randomized experiment involving 48 junior high schools. These data suggested that (a) a physical-consequences curriculum is successful at attenuating increases in adolescent smokeless tobacco use, (b) cigarette experimentation may be attenuated by various approaches, and (c) a comprehensive program with all 3 components was necessary to attenuate increases in weekly use of both forms of tobacco. These results also indicate that school-based tobacco use interventions can be effective at least 2 years postprogram, after students make their transition to high school.