Tobacco.org

Training Student Leaders Cuts Peers' Smoking Rates 

Training influential students to spread anti-smoking messages in their everyday conversations with peers helps reduce smoking rates, according to a U.K. study.

The study included almost 11,000 students, ages 12 to 13, at 59 schools in western England and Wales. At 30 of the schools, certain students were selected to receive training about the risks of smoking, the economic benefits of not smoking, communication skills, group work, negotiation, conflict resolution, sensitivity to others, personal values, and building confidence and self-esteem. The students at the other 29 schools acted as a control group.

For 10 weeks after their ASSIST (A Stop Smoking in Schools Trial) training, the peer support students talked with other students in their age groups about the benefits of not smoking.

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