Evaluation of the school‐based smoking‐prevention program “BE smokeFREE”

Abstract

This article examines the impact of the school-based smoking-prevention program "BE smokeFREE" on adolescent smoking. A national representative sample of 99 schools (195 classes, 4,441 students) was used when the intervention started in November 1994. Schools were allocated to one of four groups: a comparison group (A) and three intervention groups (B, C, and D). Group B received the most comprehensive intervention. A baseline (autumn 1994) and three follow-up data collections (1995, 1996, and 1997) were conducted. There were no significant differences in smoking habits among the four groups at baseline. The smoking habits in the group that was involved in the most comprehensive intervention (group B) changed more favourably than those of students in the comparison schools over the three follow-up data collections. At the third follow-up, the proportion of students smoking weekly or more in the comparison group was 29.2%, compared with 19.6% in the model intervention group. The two less comprehensive interventions (no teacher in-service courses in group C, and no involvement of parents in group D) appeared to be less effective than the model intervention. Multilevel multiple logistic regression analyses, comparing changes in smoking habits between students in group B with those among students in the comparison schools, confirm the conclusion that the comprehensive intervention was the most effective. This school-based intervention, based on a social influence approach, proved to be effective at reducing smoking rates among participants.

It Takes Two: Reducing Adolescent Smoking Uptake Through Sustainable Adolescent–Adult Partnership

“…Part of Tobacco Free Duo was addressing adolescent experimentation with tobacco by giving adult support in school. Other studies evaluating comprehensive interventions have emphasized the importance of teacher training and involvement of parents to decrease adolescent tobacco use [24].…”

Trends in smoking among Polish and Norwegian youth 1986-2014

“…And gradually non-smoking has become the norm in younger age groups. The start of the reduction in smoking among 15 year olds in Norway also coincided with the nation-wide dissemination of the "BE smokeFREE" programme for secondary schools, which for several years was used in more than 60% of Norwegian secondary schools (corresponding to age 14-16) [6]. This is, however, not the whole story.…”

“…A first smoking control programme for schools was tested and made available to schools all over the country in 1976 [5]. A new programme "BE smokeFREE" was piloted and made available to schools in 1997 [6]. The programme was later (2006) revised in order to fit better into the curricula of secondary schools (the FREE tobacco control programme) and in order to include other forms of tobacco use, primarily wet snuff (snus).…”

Design of a school-based randomized trial to reduce smoking among 13 to 15-year olds, the X:IT study

“…Second, we conducted a comprehensive search of the literature to review existing interventions shown to be effective. The search led us to focus on the Norwegian program “Fri” [24] and the Swedish program “Tobacco Free Duo” [25]. Since these countries have a culture resembling the Danish their positive experiences might be transferable to a Danish context.…”