An Italian program of information and education on cancer prevention and the hazards of smoking: a 3-year report.

This article describes an antismoking program in effect since 1981 that is principally directed to students 9 to 18 yr old in the public schools of Genoa. The main program objective was to change the general habits and attitudes toward smoking of young people, with a methodology that included courses, debates, and evaluation questionnaires. Informative seminars and debates were also held with teachers and school doctors to unify various health education efforts against smoking and cancer and to define the best methodology for the presentation of such a program in Italian schools. Three years after the initial presentation, the first results seemed to indicate a reduction in the number of the students who smoke as well as a decrease in the number of students who began to smoke. These results were obtained from the analysis of a sample of 3,500 students and were compared to a control group of 3,052 students. In our program 33% of the actively involved students stopped smoking; in the same period only 3% began smoking whereas in the control groups those who began exceeded 17%. Changes in attitude and smoking habits were measured through the use of questionnaires that were distributed on short-term, mid-term and long-term bases.