Fifteen-year follow-up of smoking prevention effects in the North Karelia youth project

Abstract

Objectives: This study evaluated the long-term effects of a school- and community-based smoking prevention program in Finland.

Methods: Four intervention schools from North Karelia and two control schools from another province were chosen for the evaluation. Students who received the intervention were taught to resist social pressures to smoke. The program began in 1978 with seventh-grade students and ran through 1980, with a 15-year follow-up. In North Karelia, a community-based smoking cessation program for adults was also carried out.

Results: Mean lifetime cigarette consumption was 22% lower among program subjects than among control subjects. Smoking and prevalence were lower up to the age of 21.

Conclusions: Long-term smoking prevention effects can be achieved if a school-based program using a social influence model is combined with community and mass media interventions.