Describes the development and baseline evaluation data from the Ozark Heart Health Project, a community-based cardiovascular disease risk reduction program in rural Missouri that targeted smoking, physical inactivity, and poor diet. Several Ozark counties participated in either intervention or control groups, and researchers conducted surveillance…

This study examined the effect of an innovative smoking prevention program, the "Giant Texas SmokeScream," on 512 middle school students' knowledge, perceptions, and behavioral intent about smoking. The data indicated that the program had no effect on students and provided a basis for discussion of "proinnovation bias." The…

Using 1993 Youth Risk Behavior Survey data, this study assessed Texas high school (N=6,015) and college students' (N=1048) alcohol use, tobacco use, and sexual behavior. Results indicated that the high school students initiated risk behaviors at much earlier ages than the college students, but college students reported a higher incidence of the…

A survey was completed by 261 caregivers of elementary children in rural North Carolina (93 percent mothers, 59 percent African American). Most respondents engaged in and modeled multiple risk behaviors for their children, including smoking, poor diet, and physical inactivity. Various groups' attitudes toward their own behavior are examined.…

Examined tobacco prevention education practices and curriculum in North Carolina Public Schools by analysis of 125 questionnaires completed by school districts and school representatives from 321 middle schools. Found 101 districts had adopted a systemwide curriculum, a large percentage of districts were using commercially published materials, and…

As industry, individuals, and insurance providers realize the benefits of disease prevention, the demand for information and services will grow. Health promotion activities should be tapered to individual needs and resource requirements of the institution planning the program. Programs should include screening procedures to identify underlying…

The effects of school policy on cigarette smoking among seventh graders were investigated in this study. All of the schools involved had restrictive smoking policies and many had smoking prevention education plans. Although punitive measures were found to have no effect, smoking policy generally was found to decrease adolescent smoking. (AF)

Results are presented from a study of Project SHOUT, a tobacco-use prevention program which targets sixth and seventh graders. Distinguished from similar programs by its use of college students rather than peer or teacher leaders, Project SHOUT serves as a pilot for a generic tobacco-use prevention program. (IAH)

Presents an argument for the recently proposed ban on advertising of tobacco products. Differentiates between commercial speech, used to sell products and services, and political speech, which relates to ideas. Argues that tobacco is the only legal product that is dangerous when used as intended, therefore First Amendment rights regarding other…

Describes the development of Project 4-Health, a California program that recruits and trains teenagers to deliver a tobacco education program to children ages 9-12. The program was based on studies involving the social context of tobacco use, a survey of 4-H members, and randomized field trials of the prevention curriculum. (LP)

Examines the relationship between violence exposure and experimentation with cigarettes and alcohol, intentions to use cigarettes and alcohol, health locus of control, and health values. Responses from 110 inner-city children and adolescents ages 10 to 13 years show cigarette use positively associated with violence. Control scales were negatively…

Proposes a curriculum for dental/dental hygiene schools that would teach oral health care providers how to routinely assess tobacco use, advise cessation, and provide assistance and follow-up for tobacco-using patients. The article emphasizes the importance of making tobacco interventions routine components of schools' clinical teaching programs.…

Studied 137 smokers who were assessed on 12 predictor variables and then randomly assigned to social support or self-control treatment. Social support treatment was more effective than self-control treatment for participants with high baseline self-control orientation scores and participants with high self-efficacy scores. Implications are…

Examines the relationship between contextual variables and situational expectation of drug use at the school level. Results indicate that the more prosperous the school and the greater the students' perceptions of academic expectations, the lower the situational expectation of smoking cigarettes or taking depressants. However, the higher the…

This report summarizes results from the national survey, 24 state surveys, and 9 local school-based surveys of U.S. high school students. Categories of behaviors monitored are: behaviors that contribute to unintentional and intentional injuries, tobacco use, alcohol and other drug use, sexual behaviors, dietary behaviors, and physical activity.…