[Program for the prevention of smoking in secondary school students]. / Programa de prevención del tabaquismo en alumnos de enseñanza secundaria.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: School smoking prevention programs have never yielded the expected results. The aim of this study was to analyze the efficacy of an intensive smoking prevention program created by the educational community in which it was to be applied. POPULATION AND METHOD: A 3-year smoking prevention program was carried out among the students of Fuentesaúco Secondary School in Zamora, Spain. The Babilafuente Secondary School in Salamanca, Spain was the control group. The program included both prevention and treatment activities. The former were carried out in the school, in out-of-school situations, and in the community. The questionnaire of the European Smoking Prevention Framework Approach was used. RESULTS: A total of 417 students aged 12 to 17 years participated in the study. Of these, 54.4% belonged to the intervention group and 45.6% to the control group. Smokers represented 36.7% of the population. After the intervention smokers represented 40.1% of the Fuentesaúco students compared with 46.1% of the Babilafuente students, though the difference was not statistically significant. With respect to the cognitive determinants of smoking behavior, after the intervention significant differences in favor of the intervention group were only observed in the subjects' perception of the behavior of their siblings, peers, and teachers. CONCLUSIONS: The use of smoking prevention programs in schools should be reconsidered, and their evaluation should be based on educational rather than clinical criteria. Proposed changes in the program include decreasing its intensity, starting with students of an earlier age and seeking greater involvement of parents.

Programa de prevención del tabaquismo en alumnos de enseñanza secundaria / Program for the prevention of smoking in secondary school students

Introducción y objetivolos programas de prevención de tabaquismo en la escuela no han ofrecido nunca los resultados que era previsible esperar. El objetivo del presente trabajo es analizar la eficacia de un programa intensivo de prevención del tabaquismo elaborado por la propia comunidad educativa en la que se va a desarrollar. Población y métodose ha realizado un programa de intervención de tabaquismo, de 3 años de duración, dirigido a los alumnos de enseñanza secundaria del instituto de Fuentesaúco (Zamora). El instituto de Babilafuente (Salamanca) ha sido el grupo control. El programa constaba de actividades de prevención y actividades de tratamiento. Las primeras se desarrollaron en el ámbito tanto escolar como extraescolar y en la comunidad. Se utilizó el cuestionario del proyecto ESFA. Resultadosparticiparon 417 alumnos de 12-17 años, de los que el 54,4% pertenecía al grupo de intervención y el 45,6% al grupo control. Fumaba el 36,7% de los alumnos. Después de la intervención fumaba el 40,1% de los alumnos de Fuentesaúco frente al 46,1% de Babilafuente, diferencia no significativa. Con respecto a los determinantes cognitivos de la conducta fumadora, después de la intervención únicamente se observaron diferencias significativas a favor del grupo de intervención en la conducta percibida de hermanos, iguales y profesores. Conclusioneses preciso replantearse la realización de programas de prevención de tabaquismo en la escuela y su evaluación con criterios clínicos, que deben sustituirse por criterios pedagógicos. Se plantea corregir el programa disminuyendo su intensidad, comenzar a edades más tempranas e implicar más a los padres de los alumnos(AU)

Background and ObjectiveSchool smoking prevention programs have never yielded the expected results. The aim of this study was to analyze the efficacy of an intensive smoking prevention program created by the educational community in which it was to be applied. Population and MethodA 3-year smoking prevention program was carried out among the students of Fuentesaúco Secondary School in Zamora, Spain. The Babilafuente Secondary School in Salamanca, Spain was the control group. The program included both prevention and treatment activities. The former were carried out in the school, in out-of-school situations, and in the community. The questionnaire of the European Smoking Prevention Framework Approach was used. ResultsA total of 417 students aged 12 to 17 years participated in the study. Of these, 54.4% belonged to the intervention group and 45.6% to the control group. Smokers represented 36.7% of the population. After the intervention smokers represented 40.1% of the Fuentesaúco students compared with 46.1% of the Babilafuente students, though the difference was not statistically significant. With respect to the cognitive determinants of smoking behavior, after the intervention significant differences in favor of the intervention group were only observed in the subjects¿ perception of the behavior of their siblings, peers, and teachers. ConclusionsThe use of smoking prevention programs in schools should be reconsidered, and their evaluation should be based on educational rather than clinical criteria. Proposed changes in the program include decreasing its intensity, starting with students of an earlier age and seeking greater involvement of parents(AU)

[Benefit of brief interventions and pharmacotherapies for smoking cessation in teenagers]. / Valor de la intervención breve y los tratamientos farmacológicos para dejar de fumar en adolescentes.

Management of smoking includes approaches such as health advice against smoking, brief or intensive interventions, and pharmacotherapy. However, we do not have enough information on the use of such approaches in teenagers. School programs aimed at children and adolescents are perhaps the most widely used intervention and the one for which we have the most experience. Such programs should meet a series of well-defined criteria, but in recent years their effectiveness has been questioned. Currently, information is lacking on how effective these interventions are in young smokers who wish to stop. Several clinical guidelines recommend advice and a brief intervention in adolescents but are less specific regarding pharmacotherapy. By integrating advice and a brief intervention into existing smoking prevention and control programs in schools, such approaches could be used to combat smoking in children and adolescents. However, the information available on the use of such interventions in children and adolescents is insufficient and more research needs to be done, particularly by health care professionals specialized in the identification of susceptible individuals and treatment of smoking.

Valor de la intervención breve y los tratamientos farmacológicos para dejar de fumar en adolescentes / Benefit of brief interventions and pharmacotherapies for smoking cessation in teenagers

El tratamiento del tabaquismo incluye conceptos como el consejo sanitario antitabáquico, la intervención breve o la intervención intensiva y el tratamiento farmacológico, pero carecemos de información suficiente acerca de su empleo en adolescentes. Los programas escolares destinados a niños y jóvenes, que son quizá los más ampliamente utilizados y los que cuentan con mayor experiencia, deben cumplir una serie de características muy bien definidas y en los últimos años se ha cuestionado su eficacia. En la actualidad no se dispone de información suficiente acerca de la eficacia de los tratamientos en niños y jóvenes fumadores que desean dejar el tabaco. Diversas guías clínicas recomiendan el consejo y la intervención mínima en adolescentes, pero se muestran menos categóricas en lo que respecta a la utilización de los tratamientos farmacológicos. La integración del consejo y de la intervención breve en los programas de prevención y control del tabaquismo que se realizan en los centros escolares posibilitaría la utilización de este instrumento de tratamiento del tabaquismo en niños y jóvenes, aunque la información disponible acerca de este tipo de tratamientos en niños y adolescentes es insuficiente y debería ser objeto de investigación, especialmente por parte de los profesionales especializados en diagnóstico y tratamiento del tabaquismo

Management of smoking includes approaches such as health advice against smoking, brief or intensive interventions, and pharmacotherapy. However, we do not have enough information on the use of such approaches in teenagers. School programs aimed at children and adolescents are perhaps the most widely used intervention and the one for which we have the most experience. Such programs should meet a series of well-defined criteria, but in recent years their effectiveness has been questioned. Currently, information is lacking on how effective these interventions are in young smokers who wish to stop. Several clinical guidelines recommend advice and a brief intervention in adolescents but are less specific regarding pharmacotherapy. By integrating advice and a brief intervention into existing smoking prevention and control programs in schools, such approaches could be used to combat smoking in children and adolescents. However, the information available on the use of such interventions in children and adolescents is insufficient and more research needs to be done, particularly by health care professionals specialized in the identification of susceptible individuals and treatment of smoking