The 13th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health

Objective: To develop and evaluate a school-based youth tobacco education and cessation program.

Benefits: The program is designed to educate young smokers about tobacco and motivate them to try to quit.

Methods: Existing youth treatment programs were reviewed and a new program, "Youth QUIT2WIN" was developed as a comprehensive tobacco education and cessation group program for school professionals to implement in their setting. YQ2W provides 10 interactive educational sessions that focus on topics that are most sensitive to adolescents who are considering quitting tobacco. The program was first piloted at 5 high schools by tobacco treatment specialists. 37 high school professionals were then trained how to implement the program and provided feedback on their experience.

Results: Most participating students were in the "contemplation" stage of change. When modified in the pilot phase to include more motivational components, 29% of participants were abstinent and another 29% had cut down significantly (>50%) by the end of the groups. When implemented by staff in 19 high schools, 131 students participated. The average number of cigarettes smoked per week decreased from 50 (at assessment) to 16 (at last session). 6% quit smoking by the end of the group and a further 26% reduced their tobacco consumption by 50% or more. One middle school also completed the program and 50% were abstinent by the end of that program. Feedback from the participating schools has been positive, citing beneficial effects for the students, and three quarters of participating schools have committed to continue with the program.