Biomaterial Database

Seven-year follow-up of a smoking-prevention program for children. 1994

R E Shean, and N H de Klerk, and B K Armstrong, and N R Walker

Cerebral Palsy Association of Western Australia, Perth.

Smoking-prevention programs, run by both teachers, and teachers and peers, have been introduced into school curricula in many parts of the world. This paper describes a long-term follow-up of a randomised controlled trial of a smoking education program for children conducted in Western Australia. Seven years after the first survey of 2,366 Year 7 students in 1981, 68 per cent of initial participants were traced through public records; 53 per cent of these responded to a new survey concerning smoking. Previous follow-up after one and two years had shown that both teacher-led and peer-led programs continued to reduce the taking up of smoking by girls to about the same degree, whereas in boys, the teacher-led program appeared to be effective after one year but neither program was effective after two years. In nonsmoking girls, both the intervention programs maintained their effects at the seven-year follow-up, with an almost 50 per cent reduction in smoking prevalence in the intervention group. Nonsmoking girls appeared to respond to cigarette advertisements. Mothers seemed to influence nonsmokers of both sexes and brothers seemed to influence smokers of both sexes. The seven-year follow-up confirmed the results seen at two years for boys, that the effects of the education program had dissipated. However, this study suggests that the smoking-prevention program had a lasting effect on preventing girls from taking up smoking.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008297	Male		Males
D002648	Child	A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL.	Children
D005260	Female		Females
D005500	Follow-Up Studies	Studies in which individuals or populations are followed to assess the outcome of exposures, procedures, or effects of a characteristic, e.g., occurrence of disease.	Followup Studies,Follow Up Studies,Follow-Up Study,Followup Study,Studies, Follow-Up,Studies, Followup,Study, Follow-Up,Study, Followup
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000074606	Smoking Prevention	Efforts directed at preventing SMOKING of TOBACCO and non-tobacco products.	Anti-Smoking Campaign,Anti-Smoking Education,Anti Smoking Campaign,Anti Smoking Education,Anti-Smoking Campaigns,Anti-Smoking Educations,Campaign, Anti-Smoking,Campaigns, Anti-Smoking,Education, Anti-Smoking,Prevention, Smoking,Preventions, Smoking,Smoking Preventions
D000293	Adolescent	A person 13 to 18 years of age.	Adolescence,Youth,Adolescents,Adolescents, Female,Adolescents, Male,Teenagers,Teens,Adolescent, Female,Adolescent, Male,Female Adolescent,Female Adolescents,Male Adolescent,Male Adolescents,Teen,Teenager,Youths
D012572	School Health Services	Preventive health services provided for students. It excludes college or university students.	Health Services, School,School Health Promotion,School-Based Health Services,School-Based Services,Services, School Health,Health Promotion, School,Health Promotions, School,Health Service, School,Health Service, School-Based,Health Services, School-Based,Promotion, School Health,Promotions, School Health,School Based Health Services,School Based Services,School Health Promotions,School Health Service,School-Based Health Service,School-Based Service,Service, School Health,Service, School-Based,Service, School-Based Health,Services, School-Based,Services, School-Based Health
D012907	Smoking	Willful or deliberate act of inhaling and exhaling SMOKE from burning substances or agents held by hand.	Smoking Behaviors,Smoking Habit,Behavior, Smoking,Behaviors, Smoking,Habit, Smoking,Habits, Smoking,Smoking Behavior,Smoking Habits
D014904	Western Australia	A state in western Australia. Its capital is Perth. It was first visited by the Dutch in 1616 but the English took possession in 1791 and permanent colonization began in 1829. It was a penal settlement 1850-1888, became part of the colonial government in 1886, and was granted self government in 1890. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p1329)