The European Smoking Prevention Framework Approach (ESFA) study in six countries tested

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to test the effectiveness of a computer‐tailored smoking cessation intervention, distributed through 75 Dutch general practices (GP) and 65 pharmacies (PH) in a randomised control trial.Design/methodology/approachRespondents receive a tailored letter or a thank you letter (control condition). Main outcome measures are a quit attempt, seven‐day abstinence and continued abstinence at follow‐up (PH: three and 12 months, GP: six months). Effect of use and appreciation of the tailored letter are also tested.FindingsIn total, 1,019 smokers are recruited (545 in PH study, 474 in GP study). At 12‐month follow‐up (PH), respondents receiving the tailored letter report quit attempts significantly more often. No main effects are found in the GP sample. However, reading the tailored letter more than once (GP) and talking with others about the tailored letter (PH) are borderline significant predictors of quitting and point prevalence abstinence.Research limitations/implicationsPositive effects of the intervention in a previous efficacy study are not repeated. The possible influence of power, social desirability and testing effect, extraneous events, the availability of the intervention outside the study and data entry issues are presented.Practical implicationsPossible explanations for the results found in the study and improvements of the intervention are discussed. This can guide researchers in future smoking cessation intervention development and testing.Originality/valueThe paper aims to replicate findings from a previously conducted efficacy study under real‐life circumstances.

The goal of this study was to assess the effects of a school-based smoking prevention programme that used both a video and peer-led discussion groups among Romanian junior high school students aged 13-14 years. The programme embraced the social influence approach and concentrated on enhancing self-efficacy and the acquisition of cigarette refusal skills. Twenty schools were randomly assigned to the control and experimental conditions, resulting in 55 participating classes from the seventh grade (28 in the control group and 27 in the experimental group). Pretest and 9 months follow-up data on weekly smoking initiation and psychosocial variables were collected from 1071 students. Multilevel logistic regression analyses demonstrated a significant effect of the programme on adolescents' smoking behaviour after 9 months. At post-test, weekly smoking onset was 4.5% in the experimental group versus 9.5% in the control group. Furthermore, the programme had significant effects on smoking-related beliefs. In the experimental group, this resulted in a more negative attitude towards smoking, increased social self-efficacy levels and a more negative intention towards smoking. These findings show that short-term effects of the smoking prevention programme can be realized in Romania. More studies are needed to analyse how to maintain these effects over time.

This study shows that a school- and community-based smoking prevention programme can prevent smoking onset among adolescents.

Purpose -The aim of this paper is to explore the beliefs of 15-17 year-old Dutch adolescents about starting or quitting smoking and to explore their preferences regarding education concerning this topic. Design/methodology/approach -The paper shows that a total of 12 group interviews were held with 101 students in the highest classes in secondary school (lower and higher secondary school and first class of intermediate vocational education). Findings -The findings in this paper indicate that most adolescents started smoking to be cool and because they were curious about the taste of a cigarette. Smokers felt that smoking is sociable and relaxing, while non-smokers emphasized the negative consequences of smoking. Smokers expected to quit smoking when the price of cigarettes further increased, or when they fell ill as a result of smoking. They did not expect to receive social support from their friends and parents during a quit attempt. The hardest times during their quit attempts would be in the presence of smoking friends, when feeling stressed or during a night out. Adolescents preferred to receive future education through the internet. A web site should consist of much colour and animated images, but should also be serious. Originality/value -The paper shows that computer tailoring could be an effective method of educating adolescents about (quitting) smoking through the internet, since it links up with their personal situation and therefore relevant advice can be given.

We compared 1,335 adolescent smokers and quitters from six European countries with regard to attitudes toward smoking, self-efficacy, social influences, and intentions to quit smoking. At 6-month follow-up, occasional, weekly, and daily smokers who had quit indicated less social influence of friends and siblings toward smoking, acknowledged more disadvantages of smoking, and expressed more confidence that they would be able not to smoke in various tempting situations. Logistic regression analyses revealed that smoking status at baseline and social influence of peers were the main predictors of cessation. Although no large cultural differences were found, the pattern of predictors was not similar for all six countries. As adolescents who smoke regularly are less likely to quit, strategies to prevent them from taking up the habit are important. The influence of peers calls for inclusion of peer groups in cessation strategies.

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in general, a high level of dieting motivation is associated with successful weight loss. however, this may not be equally true for everyone. the goal of the current longitudinal study was to test the interactive effect of dieting motivation and depressive symptoms on weight change in a sample of 142 participants (M age = 46.7; 112 females). height and weight were measured twice: at baseline and after a year. Some evidence was found for the hypothesized interactive effect of dieting motivation and depressive symptoms on weight change. the BMi of participants without depressive symptoms decreased with increasing motivation, whereas the BMi of participants with depressive symptoms increased with increasing motivation. taken together, these data suggest that depressive symptoms should be taken into account in weight-loss treatments because they may interfere with weight loss goals.