Project EX--a teen smoking cessation initial study in Wuhan, China

School-based interventions targeting substance use among young people in low-and-middle-income countries: A scoping review

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Globally, harmful substance use is among the leading causes of premature deaths in the general population, and most of these behaviours are initiated during pre-adolescence to young adulthood. Preventing the onset or reducing the prevalence of substance use among young people is thus a global health priority. Diverse school-based interventions have been implemented in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs); however, evidence regarding their theoretical underpinnings and core components is lacking. The aim of this scoping review was to identify the underlying (social/behavioural) theories, models or frameworks (TMF) and core (practical) components of school-based interventions in LMICs aimed at preventing the onset or reducing the prevalence of substance use among young people.

METHODS

Using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) guidance for conducting scoping reviews, we searched scientific literature databases for articles published from 1995 to 2022. A further search was conducted using the reference lists of included articles. We selected randomized and non-randomized trials of school-based interventions in LMICs that aimed at preventing the onset or reducing the prevalence of substance use among young people. We used Covidence software to screen titles and abstracts, as well as full texts. We then extracted the data and analysed it using a descriptive content analysis approach. Two reviewers conducted the screening, extraction and data analysis and discussed discrepancies, and clarified doubts and uncertainties through consultation with the other team members.

FINDINGS

A total of 58 articles were included in the review. Most articles (63.8%) used either a single or combination of two or more TMFs to inform their interventions. The most widely used TMF was social learning theory followed by theory of planned behaviour. We identified six core components of substance use prevention interventions: education, school environment, school policy, parental involvement, peer engagement and counselling.

CONCLUSION

This scoping review outlines the core components of school-based substance use prevention interventions used in low-and-middle-income countries and the common theories, models or frameworks that underpin the design of those interventions.

Project SUN: Pilot Study of a Culturally Adapted Smoking Cessation Curriculum for American Indian Youth

American Indian Alaska Native (AIAN) youth have disproportionately higher rates of commercial tobacco product use compared to other racial and ethnic groups in the U.S. These rates underscore a need for commercial tobacco product cessation interventions that are culturally informed. This project studied the development, implementation, and some impact data of an adapted version of Project EX, an evidence-based intervention for teen smoking cessation. Implementation challenges resulted in a change from a three-arm to a single-arm trial with 37 AIAN youth who participated in an eight-week curriculum. Intent-to-treat analysis with biochemical validation results indicated that 32% (N = 12/37) of youth quit smoking at the three-month follow-up. Participants reported being satisfied with the program overall and enjoying the culturally adapted activities. This study detailed the program's adaptation and lessons learned during implementation.

Three-month effects of Project EX: A smoking intervention pilot program with Korean adolescents

Despite current prevention and cessation efforts, adolescent smoking remains a pressing issue worldwide, including in Korea. The current study evaluates Project EX-Korea, a teen tobacco use cessation program, three months after baseline. The quasi-experimental trial intervention involved 160 smokers in 10th to 12th grade, 85 from the program condition schools and 75 from the control. At three-month follow-up, the intent-to-treat (ITT) quit rate in the program group (30.2%) was 3.6 times that of the rate in the standard care control group (9.2%; p < 0.05). Among those who did not quit, those in the program group smoked less on average than those in the control group, but there was no difference in follow-up mFTQ scores between the two non-quitter groups. As teen tobacco use cessation programming is much needed in Korea, Project EX is a plausible program to implement among Korean adolescents.

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Teen tobacco use cessation programming is still much needed in Korea and worldwide.

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Project EX is a credible tobacco cessation program to help Korean adolescents quit.

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The program group's quit rate was 3.6 times that of the control group's quit rate.

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Non-quitters in the program group smoked less than those in the control group.

Role of smoking intention in tobacco use reduction: A mediation analysis of an effective classroom-based prevention/cessation intervention for adolescents

INTRODUCTION

Although some school-based tobacco cessation and prevention programs have been proven to be effective, there remains a lack of understanding of how these programs succeed.

METHODS

This longitudinal study aimed to test smoking intention as a mediator of Project EX's intervention efficacy to reduce tobacco use. Using a computerized random number generator, six high schools located in the Mediterranean coast were randomly selected to participate in the program condition (Spanish version of Project EX) or the waiting-list control group with baseline, immediate-posttest, and 12-month follow-up assessments. At baseline, 685 adolescents aged 14-20 years (mean age: 14.87; SD = 0.92; 47.4% were females) were evaluated using self-administered tests of tobacco, and smoking intention. A biomarker of smoke inhalation, a measurement of exhaled carbon monoxide (ECM), was used. Mediation analyses were conducted using the PROCESS v2.12 macro for Windows.

RESULTS

Project EX had a significant effect on smoking intention. Indirect effects indicated that Project EX reduced the ECM level, and number of cigarettes used.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first Spanish study that explored intention as a mediator of the long-term efficacy of Project EX to reduce tobacco use in adolescents. Results suggested that interventions that reduce consumption intention at short-term are more likely to be successful in decreasing tobacco use in the long-term.

Two-year Effects of a Classroom-based Smoking Prevention and Cessation Intervention Program

BACKGROUND

Project EX is a classroom-based smoking prevention and cessation intervention program that has been well evaluated and designed for assessing the prevention and cessation effects among adolescents in Spain. However, its long-term efficacy is still unknown. This study deals with the outcomes of a 2-year follow-up evaluation of Project EX.

METHODS

The intervention was tested using a clustered randomized controlled trial involving 1,546 Spanish students from 3 program schools and 3 control schools. At the end of the 2-year follow-up period, 722 subjects had completed the questionnaires (266 in the control condition and 456 in the program condition) administered to them.

RESULTS

Compared to the control condition, the program condition revealed a greater reduction in nicotine dependence (p = 0.04), smoking intention (p = 0.02), and in the number of cigarettes smoked during the previous month (p = 0.03). The CO monitor repeated assessments revealed a significant decrease of ppm levels in the program group (p < 0.001). Intent-to-treat quit rates were 14.28 and 0%, respectively, for the program and control conditions.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides evidence about the long-term effectiveness of the Project EX classroom-based program for smoking prevention and cessation among adolescents in Spain.

Three-month effects of Project EX: A smoking intervention pilot program with Thai adolescents

Adolescent smoking is a major public health problem around the world, including Thailand. The current study provides a three-month follow-up evaluation of the Project EX tobacco use cessation program among Thai adolescents. The intervention was tested involving a quasi-experimental trial with 185 smokers, with two program and two control condition schools (within each condition, one school in Bangkok Province and one school in Nakhon Pathom Province). At 3-month follow-up, the intent-to-treat (ITT) quit rate was 23% in the program group and 11% in the standard care control group (p<0.02). The intervention also lowered the level of last 30-day smoking at follow-up among persons who did not quit in the program condition, while no change in level of smoking was reported in the control condition. These results are promising for teen tobacco use cessation programming in Thailand.

Nicotine Dependence as a Mediator of Project EX's Effects to Reduce Tobacco Use in Scholars

In Spain, 44% of 14-18-year-olds have smoked, and 12.5% have smoked cigarettes in the last 30 days. Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances, and can lead to serious addiction in adulthood with adverse consequences to one's health. School plays a relevant role in health promotion and preventing risk behaviors such as tobacco consumption. Despite the fact that some school-based tobacco cessation and prevention interventions prove to be effective for their purposes, there is a lack of understanding as to why these programs succeed or fail. This longitudinal study aims to test the nicotine dependence (ND) as a mediator of Project EX's effect - a tobacco-use cessation program developed for high school youth to reduce tobacco consumption in scholars. Six high schools located in the Mediterranean coast were randomized for the participation of the program (Spanish version of Project EX) or a waiting-list group with baseline, immediate-posttest, and 12-month follow-up assessments. At baseline, 1,546 adolescents aged 14-21 years old (mean age: 15.28; SD = 1.20; 46% were women) were evaluated by self-administered tests on tobacco consumption and ND. A biomarker of smoke inhalation - a measurement of exhaled carbon monoxide (ECM) - was used. Participants who were smokers (N = 501; 32%) were selected for this study. Mediation analyses were conducted using the PROCESS v2.12 macro for Windows. The significant criterion was p ≤ 0.05, and 5,000 samples were used for bias-corrected bootstrap confidence intervals. Results indicated that Project EX indirectly decreased the number of cigarettes smoked in the last month, the number of cigarettes smoked within the last 7 days, the number of daily cigarettes, and ECM level at 12-month follow up through decreasing the level of ND in the short-term. This is the first Spanish study that explores ND as a mediator of the long-term efficacy of Project EX to reduce tobacco consumption in adolescents. Results suggest that interventions that reduce ND at short-term are more likely to be successful to decrease tobacco use at long-term.

Project EX-India: A classroom-based tobacco use prevention and cessation intervention program

Tobacco use experimentation is most frequent between the ages of 15–24 in India. Therefore, programming to counteract tobacco use among adolescents is needed. There is a lack of evidence-based teen tobacco use prevention and cessation programs. The current study provides an outcome evaluation of the Project EX tobacco use prevention and cessation program among Indian adolescents (16–18 years). An eight-session classroom-based curriculum was adapted to the Indian context and translated from English to Hindi (local language). Next, it was tested using a quasi-experimental design with 624 Indian students at baseline, involving two program and two control schools, with a three-month post-program follow-up. Project EX involves motivation enhancement (e.g., talk shows and games) and coping skills (e.g., complementary and alternative medicine) components. Program participants rated complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) activities like meditation, yoga and healthy breathing higher than talk shows and games. Compared to the standard care control condition, the program condition revealed a prevention effect, but not a cessation effect. Implications for prevention/cessation programming among Indian teens are discussed. This study was approved by the Independent Ethics Committee, Mumbai.

One-year effects of Project EX: A smoking intervention pilot program with Spanish adolescents

Adolescent smoking is a major public health problem, which has led to the development of cessation programs such as Project EX. However, there is no evidence for the long-term efficacy of cessation among Spanish adolescents. This study provides a 1-year follow-up evaluation of the Project EX tobacco use cessation program among 211 smokers. The intent-to-treat 30-day smoking quit rate for the program group was 7.81 percent ( p = .04), whereas no smokers quit in the control group ( p = .02). The intervention had a significant influence on future smoking expectation, intention, motivation to quit, and overall level of 30-day smoking. Long-term outcomes of the Project EX clinic-based program are promising for adolescent smokers in Spain.

One-Year Effects of Project EX in Spain: A Classroom-Based Smoking Prevention and Cessation Intervention Program

Background

Tobacco use prevalence rates are high among Spanish adolescents. Programming to counteract tobacco use is needed.

Methods and Findings

The current study provides a one-year follow-up outcome evaluation of Project EX, an eight-session classroom-based curriculum. The intervention was tested using a randomized controlled trial with 1,546 Spanish students, involving three program and three control schools. Compared to the control condition, the program condition revealed a greater reduction in nicotine dependence (p < .05) and CO ppm levels (p < .001), and lower consumption of cigarettes at last month (p = .03).

Conclusions

Long-term outcomes of the Project EX classroom-based program are promising for adolescent prevention and possibly cessation in Spain.

Pilot clinic study of Project EX for smoking cessation with Spanish adolescents

INTRODUCTION

Despite efforts to prevent smoking, the prevalence of smoking in Spanish adolescents remains high. So far, there are no evidence-based smoking cessation programs for adolescents in Spain.

METHODS

This study describes the evaluation of Project EX, an eight-session school-based clinic smoking cessation program, with Spanish cigarette smokers 13-19 years of age, from 9 schools (four program condition schools and five control condition schools). A group-randomized controlled trial was used. There were 211 smokers at baseline (112 program group, and 99 control group). Evaluation involved an immediate pretest and posttest survey (administered five-weeks later) and six-month follow-up (after the immediate posttest).

RESULTS

At immediate posttest, Project EX significantly reduced future nicotine dependence scores (mFTQ; p<.001), and increased intention to quit smoking (p<.001), and led to a higher previous day (prior to assessment) quit rate (p<.03). At the six-month follow-up, the percentage of quitters in the program group was 14.28%, whereas no smokers quit smoking in the control group (p<.04), and Project EX had a significant influence on future smoking expectation (p=.006) and overall level of 30-day smoking.

CONCLUSIONS

Results for the Project EX school-based clinic are promising for adolescent smokers in Spain, although difficulties in recruitment and high attrition are of concern. Findings and limitations are discussed and suggestions for future research are suggested.

Immediate Effects of Project EX in Spain: A Classroom-Based Smoking Prevention and Cessation Intervention Program

Tobacco use is of high prevalence among Spanish adolescents. Programming to counteract tobacco use has been needed. There is a lack of knowledge on the efficacy of teen tobacco use cessation programming. The current study provides an immediate outcome evaluation of the Project EX tobacco use prevention and cessation program among Spanish adolescents. An eight-session, classroom-based curriculum was translated from English to Spanish and adapted to the Spanish culture. Next, it was tested using a randomized controlled trial with 1,546 Spanish students, involving three program and three control high schools. Participants at the program group provided moderately favorable process ratings of the program. Compared to the standard care control condition, the program condition revealed a greater reduction in smoking intentions and CO ppm levels.

Alcohol, tobacco, and other drug misuse prevention and cessation programming for alternative high school youth: a review

BACKGROUND

Relative to youth in regular high schools, alternative high school (AHS) youth are at high risk for alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) misuse. Prevention and cessation efforts are needed for this population.

METHODS

A systematic, exhaustive literature search was completed to identify ATOD misuse prevention and cessation research studies with AHS youth.

RESULTS

For the AHS population, 23 ATOD misuse prevention or cessation program evaluations were located. This review indicated that successful efforts have focused on instruction in motivation enhancement, life coping skills, and decision making.

CONCLUSIONS

Alcohol, tobacco, and other drug misuse prevention and cessation programming for AHSs is effective, delivered in the classroom or as a school-based clinic. There is little evidence, though, that this programming is effective when delivered through other modalities such as via computer or bridging beyond the school setting. More research and application of evidence-based programming are recommended for youth in AHS settings.

Mind-body practices: an alternative, drug-free treatment for smoking cessation? A systematic review of the literature

OBJECTIVE

The limited success of current smoking cessation therapies encourages research into new treatment strategies. Mind-body practices such as yoga and meditation have the potential to aid smoking cessation and become an alternative drug-free treatment option. The aim of this article is to assess the efficacy of yoga and other meditation-based interventions for smoking cessation, to identify the challenges of clinical trials applying mind-body treatments, and to outline directions for future research on these types of therapies to assist in smoking cessation.

METHODS

A systematic review of the scientific literature.

RESULTS

Fourteen clinical trials met the inclusion criteria defined for this review. Each article was reviewed thoroughly, and evaluated for quality, design, and methodology. Although primary outcomes differed between studies, the fourteen articles, most with limitations, reported promising effects supporting further investigation of the use of these practices to improve smoking cessation.

CONCLUSIONS

The literature supports yoga and meditation-based therapies as candidates to assist smoking cessation. However, the small number of studies available and associated methodological problems require more clinical trials with larger sample sizes and carefully monitored interventions to determine rigorously if yoga and meditation are effective treatments.

Immediate and six-month effects of Project EX Russia: a smoking cessation intervention pilot program

This study evaluates the performance of the Project EX tobacco use cessation program in Russian summer recreational camps. An eight-session clinic-based tobacco use cessation program for adolescents was tested during the summer of 2011 in an experimental pilot trial that involved different youth that rotated through camps. Conditions were nested within camps. Two rotations of unique subject groups of smokers (program and standard care control) through each of five camps provided the means of controlling for campsite by condition. Assignment of condition by rotation was random (by a flip of a coin), achieving reasonable baseline comparability (total n=164 smokers at baseline, 76 program group, 88 standard care control group). Evaluation involved an immediate pretest and posttest and a six-month telephone follow-up. At immediate posttest, Project EX was moderately well-received, significantly reduced future smoking expectation (46% reduction in EX program condition versus 8% in control, p<.0001), decreased intention to not quit smoking (-5.2% in EX versus +1.4% in control, p<.05), and increased motivation to quit smoking (0.72 versus -0.04, p<.0001). At the six-month follow-up, program subjects reported a higher intent-to-treat quit rate during the last 30days (7.5% versus 0.1%, p<.05). For the subjects who remained monthly smokers at the six-month follow-up, Project EX reduced subjects' level of nicotine dependence (-0.53 versus +0.15, p<.001). The results were quite promising for this program, which included motivation enhancement, coping skill, and alternative medicine material. However, further research on teen tobacco use cessation programming in Russia with larger sample sizes, involving other locations of the country, and with stronger research designs is needed.

Smoking trajectories among Koreans in Seoul and California: exemplifying a common error in age parameterization

Immigration to a nation with a stronger anti-smoking environment has been hypothesized to make smoking less common. However, little is known about how environments influence risk of smoking across the lifecourse. Research suggested a linear decline in smoking over the lifecourse but these associations, in fact, might not be linear. This study assessed the possible nonlinear associations between age and smoking and examined how these associations differed by environment through comparing Koreans in Seoul, South Korea and Korean Americans in California, United States. Data were drawn from population based telephone surveys of Korean adults in Seoul (N=500) and California (N=2,830) from 2001-2002. Locally weighted scatterplot smoothing (lowess) was used to approximate the association between age and smoking with multivariable spline logistic regressions, including adjustment for confounds used to draw population inferences. Smoking differed across the lifecourse between Korean and Korean American men. The association between age and smoking peaked around 35 years among Korean and Korean American men. From 18 to 35 the probability of smoking was 57% higher (95%CI, 40 to 71) among Korean men versus 8% (95%CI, 3 to 19) higher among Korean American men. A similar difference in age after 35, from 40 to 57 years of age, was associated with a 2% (95%CI, 0 to 10) and 20% (95%CI, 16 to 25) lower probability of smoking among Korean and Korean American men. A nonlinear pattern was also observed among Korean American women. Social role transitions provide plausible explanations for the decline in smoking after 35. Investigators should be mindful of nonlinearities in age when attempting to understand tobacco use.

Tobacco smoking, quitting, and relapsing among adult males in Mainland China: the China Seven Cities Study

INTRODUCTION

Despite an estimated 1 million tobacco-related deaths annually in China, public health officials face overwhelming barriers to implementing effective tobacco control policies and programs. Models of effective tobacco control can be adapted for Chinese tobacco use and culture based on reliable and valid data regarding predictors of smoking and abstaining.

METHODS

As part of the China Seven Cities Study to assess the role of rapid social, economic, and cultural change on tobacco use and related health practices and outcomes, 4,072 adult male smokers provided data in 3 annual waves. Measures included current smoking, nicotine dependence, readiness for quitting, perceived stress, hostility, depressive symptoms, as well as covariates (e.g., age, marital status, educational attainment, and family income).

RESULTS

Odds of being abstinent at Wave 3 were increased by: lower nicotine dependence at Wave 1 and becoming less dependent between Waves 1 and 3; progressing beyond the contemplation stage between Waves 1 and 3; perceiving less stress, whether initially at Wave 1 or over time from Wave 1 to Wave 3; and lower hostility scores at Wave 1 and decreased hostility from Wave 1 to Wave 3. Among those who quit, odds of remaining abstinent rather than relapsing by Wave 3 were higher among those who were less dependent at Wave 1 and who became less dependent from Wave 1 to Wave 3; and those who showed decreases in hostility from Wave 1 to Wave 3.

CONCLUSIONS

The public health challenge posed by very high prevalence of male smoking in China can be met by policies and programs that lead to successful long-term cessation. This can only be done successfully by designing interventions based on knowledge of the country's smokers and the current study suggests several elements.

International Translation of Project EX: A Teen Tobacco Use Cessation Program

AIMS

There are relatively few documented teen tobacco use cessation efforts outside the United States (U.S.). Project EX is an evidence-based program that consists of eight sessions, as a school-based clinic tobacco cessation-only version and a classroom-based prevention and cessation version. This paper provides a 'snapshot' of progress on international translation of ProjectEXpilot study work in eight countries that have been approached thus far. The program was implemented in Wuhan, China; Israel and partners; Bashkortostan, Russia; and Elche, Spain. Implementation is planned for Vienna, Austria; Mumbai, India; and Bangkok, Thailand. This work will lead eventually to a greater understanding regarding preference for type of programming (e.g., clinic versus classroom modality), challenges in recruitment and retention, program receptivity, and short-term (approximately 3-month post-program) quit rates.

PROTOCOL AND INTERIM RESULTS OF INTERNATIONAL TRANSLATION OF PROJECT EX

Convenience samples are being recruited based on previous contacts with each location. A protocol was sent to each location, proposing a controlled design, in which subjects enter cessation groups or become a wait-list control, with an immediate pretest, posttest, and 3-month follow-up. Language translation of program materials was completed in seven of the eight locations. Several variations in design and implementation were demanded though. For example, youth fear of reporting tobacco publicly mandated to researchers that the prevention/cessation classroom version be implemented in some locations (Israel and partners, and India). Program effects are suggested across countries.

CONCLUSIONS

Ongoing partnerships with parties actively involved in tobacco control facilitate pilot testing of teen tobacco use cessation programming. The Project EX curriculum appears quite translatable, though having flexibility in implementation modality eased being able to pilot test the program. Research on this cognitive-behavioral, motivation enhancement approach continues.

Smoking cessation for adolescents: a review of pharmacological and psychosocial treatments

Unlike the vast literature on smoking cessation in adults, research in adolescents has gained significant attention only within the last decade. Even with this increase in focus, research into pharmacological aids for smoking cessation in adolescents (e.g., nicotine replacement therapy, bupropion) is a more recent phenomenon and has produced only modest results. While more extensive, much of the research on behaviorally- or psychosocially-based adolescent smoking cessation interventions has been limited by a lack of control for contact time, biochemical verification of self-reported abstinence, and/or a theoretical focus for the interventions. The MEDLINE, PubMed, PSYCInfo, EMBASE, ERIC, CINHAL, Cochrane CENTRAL and Systematic Review databases were searched for articles relevant to adolescent smoking cessation treatment. After briefly examining the adolescent smoking cessation research prior to 2000, more recent developments in pharmacological aids and psychological treatment will be reviewed. Investigations have made progress in elucidating efficacious treatments for adolescent smokers, but much work remains to be done in both pharmacological and non-pharmacological areas of treatment. With the current state of the literature as a guide, future directions for research into smoking cessation for adolescents will be proposed.

Toward an understanding of and response to tobacco use among high-risk Israeli and Palestinian youth

Little has been done to bring Israeli and Palestinian people together to address common health problems. Because Jewish and Arab people have been in a declared and/or de facto state of war since the establishment of Israel as a nation in 1948, the possibility of Israelis and Palestinian working together to deal with a mutual problem has been bleak. This article describes efforts to link people together to address tobacco use cessation among Israeli and Palestinian high-risk youth and provides an overview of a current initiative to demonstrate a smoking cessation model, Project EX, which may contribute to the health of those involved and to societal change in the region.

School-based programmes to prevent alcohol, tobacco and other drug use

Substance use and abuse are important public health problems in the USA and throughout the world. In many developed countries, the initial stages of substance use typically include experimentation with alcohol, tobacco, or marijuana with one's peer group during adolescence. While there have been gradual decreases in the use of these substances in recent years among youth in the USA and other countries, increases have been observed in the use and misuse of other substances, such as the misuse of prescription drugs and over-the-counter cough medications in the USA. From a developmental perspective, data shows that rates of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and other illicit drug use typically escalate during adolescence and peak during young adulthood, corresponding with the increased freedom and independence of this time of life. Substance use decreases for most young people as they take on adult responsibilities, although a proportion will continue or increase their use and develop substance use problems. Given what we know about the onset and progression of substance use, implementing preventive interventions during early adolescence is critical. Most drug prevention or education programmes take place in school settings. A variety of theory-based school-based drug prevention programmes have been developed and tested. The most effective programmes are delivered interactively and teach skills to help young people refuse drug offers, resist pro-drug influences, correct misperceptions that drug use is normative, and enhance social and personal competence skills. A key challenge is to identify mechanisms for the wide dissemination of evidence-based drug preventive interventions and ways to train providers to implement programmes effectively and thoroughly.

Six-month and one-year effects of project EX-4: a classroom-based smoking prevention and cessation intervention program

OBJECTIVE

This study evaluated the efficacy of a version of Project EX that was adapted for implementation in the classroom context (Project EX-4). This paper reports the program outcomes based on pretest, six-month, and one-year follow-up surveys.

METHODS

An 8 session classroom-based curriculum was tested with a clustered randomized controlled trial that involved a total of 1097 students in 6 program and 6 control alternative high schools. Weekly and monthly smoking was assessed at the three time points. Outcome effects were analyzed with multi-level random coefficients models.

RESULTS

Students in the program condition experienced a greater reduction in weekly smoking and monthly smoking, at 6-and-12-month follow-ups. The net change varied between -5.1% and -7.6%, comparing the program condition to the control condition.

CONCLUSIONS

The implementation of Project EX in a classroom setting produced decreases in smoking among students in the program, relative to those in the standard care control condition. It is likely that a classroom-based smoking prevention/cessation program can lead to lower overall smoking prevalence than a cessation program that is implemented in a school-based smoking cessation clinic format.

Short-term effects of Project EX-4: a classroom-based smoking prevention and cessation intervention program

OBJECTIVE

Researchers continue to try to develop effective teen tobacco use prevention and cessation programs. Three previous school clinic-based studies established the efficacy of Project EX for teen smoking cessation. This fourth study adapts Project EX to the classroom context. This paper reports the findings based on pretest and posttest surveys conducted immediately prior and post-intervention.

METHODS

An eight-session classroom-based curriculum was developed and tested with a randomized controlled trial that involved a total of 1097 students in six program and six control continuation high schools. Program-specific knowledge and smoking measures were assessed at both the pretest and posttest surveys, and were used to evaluate the program's effect on the immediate outcomes. The immediate outcomes effects were analyzed with multi-level random coefficients models.

RESULTS

Program students provided favorable process ratings of the overall program and each session. Compared with the students in the control condition, students in the program condition showed a greater change in correct knowledge responses from pretest to posttest (beta=+5.5%, p=0.0003). Students in the program condition also experienced a greater reduction in weekly smoking (beta=-6.9%, p=0.038), and intention for smoking in the next 12 months (beta=-0.21 in 5-level scale, p=0.023).

CONCLUSIONS

EX-4 immediate outcome results revealed favorable student responses to the program, increases in knowledge, and decreases in smoking relative to a standard care control condition.

Attitudes to smoking cessation and triggers to relapse among Chinese male smokers

Background

Smoking is related to many diseases, and the relapse to smoking after cessation in China is noticeable. We examined the attitudes of Chinese male smokers regarding smoking cessation and reasons for relapse.

Methods

We interviewed 201 male smokers in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang province, China who had tried to quit smoking at least once in order to identify reasons for quitting and situations triggering relapse.

Results

The most significant reported reasons for quitting included personal health (77.1%), the cost of cigarettes (53.7%), and family pressures to quit (29.9%). The most common factors triggering relapse were social situations (34.3%), feeling negative or down (13.4%) and times of being alone (8.4%).

Conclusion

Health and family concerns, personal factors, the influence of others and a lack of cessation resources were cited as salient factors concerning smoking cessation among male smokers in this study. Effective smoking control efforts in China will require attention to these influences if China is to curb its current smoking epidemic.

Project EX: A Program of Empirical Research on Adolescent Tobacco Use Cessation

This paper presents the Project EX research program. The historical background for Project EX is presented, including a brief summary of reasons youth fail to quit tobacco use, the disappointing status of previous cessation research, and the teen cessation trial that provided the template for the current project (Project TNT). Next, program development studies for Project EX are described. Through use of focus groups, a theme study (concept evaluation of written activity descriptions), a component study, and pilot studies, an eight-session program was developed. This program involves novel activities (e.g., "talk show enactments," games, and alternative medicine-type activities such as yoga and meditation) in combination with motivation enhancement and cognitive-behavioral strategies to motivate and instruct in cessation initiation and maintenance efforts. The outcomes of the first experimental trial of Project EX, a school-based clinic program, are described, followed by a posthoc analysis of its effects mediation. A second EX study, a multiple baseline single group pilot study design in Wuhan, China, is described next. Description of a second experimental trial follows, which tested EX with nicotine gum versus a natural herb. A third experimental trial that tests a classroom prevention/cessation version of EX is then introduced. Finally, the implications of this work are discussed. The intent-to-treat quit rate for Project EX is approximately 15% across studies, double that of a standard care comparison. Effects last up to a six-month post-program at regular and alternative high schools. Through a systematic protocol of empirical program development and field trials, an effective and replicable model teen tobacco use cessation program is established. Future cessation work might expand on this work.