PROJECT TOWARDS NO TOBACCO USE - 1-YEAR BEHAVIOR OUTCOMES

Objectives. We present 1-year follow-up data from a school-based tobac co use prevention project designed to test the effectiveness of three main components of social influence programs. The components teach ref usal skills, awareness of social misperceptions about tobacco use, and misconceptions about physical consequences. Methods. Four different c urricula were developed and tested in a randomized experiment involvin g 48 junior high schools. The outcome variables examined were changes in initial and weekly cigarette and smokeless tobacco use 1 year after the intervention. Results. Analyses indicated that each of the compon ent programs were effective in decreasing both the initial and the wee kly use of cigarettes except for the curriculum in which refusal skill s were taught. Also, each curriculum was effective in decreasing the i nitial use of smokeless tobacco except for the one aimed at correcting social misperceptions. Only the combined curriculum showed an effect on the weekly use of smokeless tobacco. Conclusions. The combined inte rvention was the most effective overall in reducing the initial and we ekly use of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. This suggests that diffe rent reasons for use exist and need to be counteracted simultaneously. However, since single programs were also effective in reducing all bu t weekly smokeless tobacco use, any of these components may be worthwh ile prevention tools.