Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

School-based smoking prevention in children and adolescents: review of the scientific literature

  • Review Article
  • Published:
Journal of Public Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The aim of this study was to review all systematic reviews and meta-analyses of school-based interventions to prevent children and adolescents starting smoking. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, The Cochrane Database and Tobacco Review group registers, Psyclnfo, and the ERIC database. The keywords used for the search were: school-based, smoking prevention, children, adolescents, meta-analysis, systematic review. We found seven specifically relevant meta-analyses. They give evidence of a decreased prevalence of smoking among students exposed to social influence programmes compared to students in control groups. The mean difference between groups exposed to the programmes and those not exposed (at the school or classroom level) ranges from 5% to 60%, with a duration of 1–4 years. In conclusion, in order to achieve a higher level of effectiveness it is widely recognized that smoking prevention programmes should have the following components: sustained application, booster sessions over several years; reinforcement in the community; involvement of parents and the mass media; programming smoking prevention activities within a more comprehensive school health promotion programme.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ayzen I, Fishbein M (1980) Understanding attitudes and predicting social behaviour. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs

  • Bangert-Drowns RL (1988) The effects of school-based substance abuse education—a meta-analysis. J Drug Educ 18:243–264

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Best JA, Thomson SJ, Santi SM, Smith E, Brown KS (1988) Preventing cigarette smoking among school children. Annu Rev Public Health 9:161–201

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bruvold WH (1993) A meta-analysis of adolescent smoking prevention programs. Am J Public Health 83(6):872–880

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (1989) Reducing the health consequences of smoking: 25 years of progress. A report of the Surgeon General. DHHS publication no. (CDC) 89-8411. US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta

    Google Scholar 

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (1994) Guidelines for school health programs to prevent tobacco use and addiction. MMWR Recommendations and Reports 43(RR-2):1–18

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2000) Reducing tobacco use. A report of the Surgeon General. US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta

  • Christakis DA, Garrison MM, Ebel BE, Wiehe SE, Rivara FP (2003) Pediatric smoking prevention interventions delivered by care providers: a systematic review. Am J Prev Med 25(4):358–362

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Errecart MT, Walberg HJ, Ross JG, Gold RS, Fiedler JL, Kolbe LJ (1991) Effectiveness of teenage health teaching modules. J Sch Health 61 [Suppl 1]:19–42

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans RI (1976) Smoking in children: developing a social psychological strategy of deterrence. Prev Med 5:122–127

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fichtenberg CM, Glantz SA (2002) Youth access interventions do not affect youth smoking. Pediatrics 109(6):1088–1092

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Garrison MM, Christakis DA, Ebel BE, Wiehe SE, Rivara FP (2003) Smoking cessation interventions for adolescents: a systematic review. Am J Prev Med 25(4):363–367

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Griesbach D, Inchley J, Currie C (2002) More than words? The status and impact of smoking policies in Scottish schools. Health Promot Internation 17(1):31–41

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen WB (1992) School-based substance abuse prevention: a review of the state of the art in curriculum. Health Educ Res 7:3:403–430

    Google Scholar 

  • Hwang MS, Yeagley KL, Petosa R (2004) A meta-analysis of adolescent psychosocial smoking prevention programs published between 1978 and 1997 in the United States. Health Educ Behav 31(6):702–719

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jang AS, Choi IS, Lee S, Nam HS, Kweon SS, Son MH, Lee JH, Park SW, Kim DJ, Uh ST, Kim YH, Park CS (2004) The effect of passive smoking on asthma symptoms, atopy, and airway hyperresponsiveness in schoolchildren. J Korean Med Sci 19(2):214–217

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kramer U, Lemmen CH, Behrendt H, Link E, Schafer T, Gostomzyk J, Scherer G, Ring J (2004) The effect of environmental tobacco smoke on eczema and allergic sensitization in children. Br J Dermatol 150(1):111–118

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kropp RY, Halpern-Felsher BL (2004) Adolescents’ beliefs about the risks involved in smoking “light” cigarettes. Pediatrics 114(4):e445–451

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • La Torre G, Moretti C, Capitano D, Alonzi M T, Ferrara M, Gentile A, Mannocci A, Capelli G (2004) La prevenzione del tabagismo: risultati di uno studio controllato randomizzato in adolescenti scolarizzati in Cassino. Riv Ital Med Adolesc 2(3):36–40

    Google Scholar 

  • National Cancer Institute (1990) School programs to prevent smoking: the National Cancer Institute guide to strategies that succeed. US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD

    Google Scholar 

  • National Cancer Institute (1999) Health effects of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke: the report of the California Environmental Protection Agency. US Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD

    Google Scholar 

  • Raczynski JM, Di Clemente RJ (eds) (1997) Handbook of health promotion and disease prevention. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York

  • Rasmussen M, Damsgaard MT, Due P, Holstein BE (2002) Boys and girls smoking within the Danish elementary school classes: a group-level analysis. Scand J Public Health 30:62–69

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rizzi M, Sergi M, Andreoli A, Pecis M, Bruschi C, Fanfulla F (2004) Environmental tobacco smoke may induce early lung damage in healthy male adolescents. Chest 125(4):1387–1393

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rooney BL, Murray DM (1996) A meta-analysis of smoking prevention programs after adjustment for errors in the unit of analysis. Health Educ Q 23(1):48–64

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rundall TG, Bruvold WH (1988) Meta-analysis of school-based smoking and alcohol use prevention programs. Health Educ Q 15(3):317–334

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sowden A, Arblaster L, Stead L (2003) Community interventions for preventing smoking in young people. Cochrane Database Syst Rev (1):CD001291

    Google Scholar 

  • Steptoe A, Wardle J, Cui W, Baban A, Glass K, Pelzer K, Tsuda A, Vinck J (2002) An International comparison of tobacco smoking, beliefs and risk awareness in university students from 23 countries. Addiction 97:1561–1571

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Storr CL, Zhou H, Liang KY, Anthony JC (2004) Empirically derived latent classes of tobacco dependence syndromes observed in recent-onset tobacco smokers: epidemiological evidence from a national probability sample survey. Nicotine Tob Res 6(3):533–45

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Taioli E, Wynder E (1991) Effect of the age at which smoking begins on frequency of smoking in adulthood. New Engl J Med 325:968–969

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas R (2002) School-based programmes for preventing smoking. Cochrane Database Syst Rev (4):CD001293

    Google Scholar 

  • Tobler NS (1986) Meta-analysis of 143 adolescent drug prevention programs: quantitative outcome results of program participants compared to a control or comparison group. J Drug Issues 16:537–567

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang LY, Crossett LS, Lowry R, Sussman S, Dent CW (2001) Cost-effectiveness of a school-based tobacco-use prevention program. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 155(9):1043–1050

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wold B, Torsheim T, Currie C, Roberts C (2004) National and school policies on restrictions of teacher smoking: a multilevel analysis of student exposure to teacher smoking in seven European countries. Health Educ Res 19(3):217–226

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yamaguchi K, Kandel D (1984) Patterns of drug use from adolescence to young adulthood. II. Sequences of progression. Am J Public Health 74:668–672

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Hygiene, Catholic University Rome, Largo F. Vito 1, 00168, Rome, Italy

    G. La Torre, G. Chiaradia & G. Ricciardi

Authors
  1. G. La Torre
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. G. Chiaradia
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. G. Ricciardi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to G. La Torre.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

La Torre, G., Chiaradia, G. & Ricciardi, G. School-based smoking prevention in children and adolescents: review of the scientific literature. J Public Health 13, 285–290 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-005-0132-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-005-0132-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation