Activism prompts teen smokers to cut back on cigarettes, Stanford s...( to determine their tobacco use at the b...),Health

to determine their tobacco use at the beginning of each semester. Roughly 35 percent were non-smokers (never or former smokers), 40 percent were light smokers (less than a pack a week) and 25 percent were regular smokers (a pack or more a week). Students breathed into a carbon-monoxide monitor to confirm their reported level of smoking. At the end of the semesters and again six months later, they were re-surveyed about their tobacco use.

For students in the advocacy curriculum the most significant change was among regular smokers, whose smoking decreased by 3.8 percent at the end of the semester and an additional 1 percent six months later. By comparison, the rate among regular smokers in the drug and alcohol prevention curriculum increased by 1.5 percent at the end of the semester. "Without any intervention, you would expect to see even larger increases in smoking during a period of six months to a year," Winkleby said. "The fact that the regular smokers in the advocacy curriculum made a significant decrease in their usage and sustained that behavior for another six months is very encouraging."

The goal of the advocacy program was to heighten students' awareness of the cues in their school and community environments that promote cigarette use, Winkleby said. "It's not the traditional approach of providing individuals with information to get them to change their own behavior. It's an indirect way to bring about behavior change by making students aware of the social context of smoking behavior."

Students learned about tobacco availability and advertising strategies, and assessed tobacco promotion in their communities. "Most of them were surprised and then angry when they realized how extensive it was," Winkleby said. "Teenagers don't like it when other people try to influence them."

The students then developed, implemented and evaluated advocacy projects that included: forming a task force to enforce campu
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Contact: Susan Ipaktchian
susani@stanford.edu
650-725-5375
Stanford University Medical Center
1-Mar-2004

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