Mass media and school interventions for cigarette smoking prevention: effects 2 years after completion.

• DOI: 10.2105/ajph.84.7.1148
• Publication Date: 2008-11-29T13:18:52Z
• Authors: B S Flynn; J K Worden; R H Secker-Walker; P L Pirie; G J Badger; J H Carpenter; B M Geller
• Keywords: Adolescent; 4. Education; Smoking; Smoking Prevention; 3. Good health; Cohort Studies; 03 medical and health sciences; Logistic Models; Adolescent Behavior; Humans; Mass Media; 0305 other medical science; Health Education; Follow-Up Studies; Program Evaluation; School Health Services

The long-term cigarette smoking prevention effects of mass media and school interventions were assessed. Adolescents in two communities received both mass media and school interventions; those in two matching communities received only school interventions. Surveys of 5458 students were conducted at baseline in grades 4 through 6 and 2 years after the 4-year interventions were completed, when students were in grades 10 through 12. Students exposed to the media-plus-school interventions were found to be at lower risk for weekly smoking (odds ratio = 0.62, 95% confidence interval = 0.49, 0.78) than those receiving school interventions only, indicating that the effects of the combined interventions persisted 2 years after the interventions' completion.