Smoking Cessation Intervention for Youth

DESCRIPTION (provided by investigator): The numbers of youth who are addicted to nicotine continue to rise. Provided that people who become addicted to nicotine during adolescence are much more likely to continue smoking as adults and thus, suffer the devastating health consequences of smoking in later adulthood, great efforts must be initiated to help youth to quit smoking. To date, few interventions have been developed to assist youth to quit smoking. In response to the need of cessation interventions targeting youth, Danya International, Inc. developed a multifaceted smoking cessation intervention (Adolescent Smoking Cessation Escaping Nicotine and Tobacco: ASCENT) developmentally appropriate and based on cognitive theory for ages 14-18 (in Phase I). The intervention includes a six session smoking cessation curriculum, incorporated facilitator's guide, and a motivational video (Last Drag, First Step). During Phase II, a support website will be developed, and the curriculum and video from Phase I will be finalized. In addition, in Phase II, a two-tiered evaluation of the intervention will be conducted. The first tier, an outcome evaluation, is designed to determine the efficacy of the program in the target population and the second, the process evaluation, is intended to create a "real world" case study to document the process of implementing the entire program and determine effectiveness of the additional website component. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: The proposed intervention package will provide an attractive, comprehensive, and relatively immediate method to address teen smoking in this country. It is anticipated that the program will be marketed to schools, community-based programs and clinics, health maintenance organizations, and state health departments.