Tabacco prevention by apptentices-evaluation of the campaign "non-smoking is cool"

Purpose: In recent years the incidence of adolescent smelters has increased steeply. Taking this into account, current anti-smoker campaigns should be reconsidered. Great importance must be attached to the apprentice group, s ince adolescents in professional training have frequently not been reached sufficiently by the preventive efforts. This study presents a tobacco preve ntion campaign among adolescents which was conducted in a large Swiss indus trial company in 1998. Methods and Sample: A total of 430 apprentices took part in the prevention campaign which intentionally targeted adolescent behaviour. Of these, 40 ap prentices were trained as mediators for tobacco prevention in advance. On t he prevention day, the mediators communicated their know-how and experience s to their working groups. To evaluate the campaign, the apprentices were s urveyed via standardised questionnaires on their smelting habits before the prevention campaign began. One month after the prevention day they were su rveyed again on their current smoking habits and how the campaign had affec ted them. Results: The study showed that apprentices smoke heavily despite high aware ness of the negative consequences. Some 30 % of the trainees admitted smoki ng regularly. Another 11% said they were occasional tobacco consumers. No s ignificant gender difference was noticeable. Especially striking was that t he adolescents often justified their own smoking as habit and dependence on tobacco. The prevention campaign was well received by the adolescents. It: set about half of the smelters thinking over their smolting habits. No cha nge in smelting habits, however, could be demonstrated one month after the campaign. Conclusions: Prevention among adolescents beyond the mandatory school perio d is a special challenge, since one cannot take advantage of the school's n etwork. Within the scope of the campaign described here, it was possible to reach 430 apprentices of a major company. The study shows a great need for on-target: smoking prevention in this sector. In the future, studies shoul d examine whether tobacco prevention campaigns for apprentices should alrea dy contain secondary prevention elements from the outset. They should also assess if the effects could be further improved by introducing structural a nd other ongoing health-promotion measures.