The purpose of this research was to determine if one program funded by the Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation produces a more effective result in increasing student knowledge about the harmful effects of tobacco use than another program. Of particular interest is whether there is a difference in effectiveness based on the environment or settings in which these programs are presented. According to the CDC (2006), approximately 4,000 people between the ages of 12 to 17 will initiate smoking. In Virginia, a tobacco-growing state, there are 88,500 high school smokers. The health costs to Virginia are approximately 2.08 billion dollars per year with an estimated cost of 2.42 billion (Campaign for Tobacco-free Kids, n.d.). By providing the VTSF an analysis of their programs, they will be better equipped at making an informed decision on which programs to support financially. The research questions that were posed are: 1) is there a difference between school-based programs, faith-based programs, and community-based programs in increasing knowledge about tobacco's harmful effects? 2) is there a difference between programs in increasing knowledge and the location in which they are presented, urban versus rural?, and 3) is there a difference between programs implemented in middle schools in increasing knowledge about tobacco? From the focused analysis, the following conclusions can be drawn: 1) given the current evaluation and reporting process of the VTSF, no determination of whether there is a difference between program settings in increasing knowledge can be made, 2) in addition, no determination can be made in regards to whether there is a difference in increasing knowledge in regards to program location-urban versus rural, and 3) no conclusion can be drawn about middle school program effectiveness. What one can conclude is that the evaluation process used by the VTSF needs to be reformed so that a more consistent method is utilized by all parties so that a comparison can be made about the effectiveness of implemented programs. Also, long-term studies on programs need to be conducted since there are so few available. Studies to determine whether knowledge acquisition actually translates into behavior change also need to be performed. The key to tobacco prevention and cessation must be a multi-faceted approach. Educational programs, anti-tobacco media messages, tobacco taxation, and restriction of tobacco sales are all important in the prevention of tobacco use by the youth of Virginia. Each plays an important piece to the puzzle. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to determine if the VTSF elementary school compendium programs are effective in the prevention of youth tobacco use based on evaluations provided by the VTSF. In the years (2003-2005), tobacco use trends among middle and high school students in Virginia started moving upward despite the fact that the Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation (VTSF) spent nearly $16 million in 2004 and approximately $11 million in 2005 for marketing, programs, enforcement, research and evaluation. This study is primarily a review of evaluations and not individual people or groups of people. The study reviewed the final evaluations of the various programs of the compendium in the 2005-2006 VTSF grant cycle. Only elementary programs (Pre-K – 5 and in some systems 6) were reviewed. The VTSF provides a variety of evaluation formats ranging from short, descriptive outcomes to quasi-experimental statistical analysis. Information was extracted from the evaluations to answer the primary research question: Do the elementary school compendium programs prevent tobacco use among Virginia's youth? Two additional questions were answered: 1) Does the current program evaluation process provide useful information to determine if the programs are effective in tobacco use prevention? and 2) Are community or school-based programs more effective? The following conclusions were drawn from this comparative program analysis: 1) Based on this current data approach to evaluating the elementary compendium programs, we cannot determine if the programs are effective in preventing youth tobacco use. However, based on the review of literature combined with these finding it is logical to conclude that the programs may not be preventing tobacco use in their intended population. 2) The evaluation process and the information included in the evaluations on an elementary level are not effective in providing information regarding tobacco use or future tobacco use. 3) School programs are more efficient and reach more students than community-based programs. There is no indication in terms of tobacco goals that one setting is better than another. The following recommendations were suggested: 1)Transition funding for compendium programs involving pre-initiation age students to late elementary, middle, and high school. 2) Concentrate funding for community-based programs on at-risk students. 3) Require school systems that apply for funds to offer programs on all levels: late elementary, middle, and high school, 4) Only those programs that directly address tobacco or tobacco and other drugs should be on the compendium list, 5) Streamline the evaluation process and make it consistent for all schools for comparative purposes, 6) Provide curriculum for all 4th-12th grade health and PE teachers rather than compendium programs as a separate unit, 7) Fund the development and implementation of curriculum that integrates tobacco prevention objectives into all school curriculum grades 4-12, 8) Explore ways to reach parents, 9) Focus more initiatives on teen tobacco cessation. / Ph. D.

No description available.

Tobacco use among Mauritian adolescents has increased steadily since 2008. Currently, Mauritius has not implemented any school-based anti-tobacco program and there is no instrument to assess the effectiveness of existing anti-tobacco school policies. Since the first cigarette can rapidly lead to nicotine dependence, targeted interventions must be assessed before established patterns of smoking appear. This study evaluated a tobacco use prevention education instrument to determine the effectiveness of a school-based anti-tobacco program. 26 male students completed a survey before and after receiving anti-tobacco lessons. Smoking initiation age could not predict likelihood of tobacco addiction (r(12)=0.320, p=0.311). However, after receiving the anti-tobacco lessons, participants were less likely to believe that youth who smoke have more friends (p < 0.001) and were more knowledgeable about tobacco’s dangers (t(25)=3.94, p=0.001). This indicated that, with a few changes, the instrument can be used to assess the implementation of a school-based anti-tobacco program in Mauritius.