Students speak : obtaining youth input regarding tobacco policies

This study evaluated youth attitudes regarding the effectiveness of a variety of smoking-prevention strategies. The attitudes of young people have largely been overlooked in the field of tobacco-control. Here, students’ attitudes towards the following approaches were examined: financial disincentives to smoke; smoking prevention education based on the information deficit, affective education, and social influences models; and a variety of punishments and rewards derived from theories of compliance. Five hundred and seventy-seven middle and high school students in Knox County, Tennessee, were surveyed regarding their attitudes. Students’ attitudes towards the perceived effectiveness of these strategies varied based on students’ demographic characteristics. The three most significant characteristics were students’ current smoking status, their race, and their income level. Current smokers indicated that the majority of approaches that are incorporated in contemporary anti-smoking efforts are very unlikely to discourage them from smoking. In particular, they indicated little support for the effectiveness of social influences-based education. Rather, smokers indicated that a variety of punishments and, in particular, a variety of rewards were the approaches most likely to deter them from smoking. The responses of black and lower income students were also notable regarding their evaluations of the effectiveness of social influences-based education. Significant numbers of students in both of these categories indicated that social influences-based education is not an effective deterrent to their smoking.