Abstract:
Tobacco use is a major cause of preventable disease and premature death. Currently the smoking prevalent rate is dramatically decreased in Thailand but it is increasing among adolescents. This participatory action research aimed to empower young adolescents to participate in a smoking control program at one secondary school, Khon Kaen Province. The fi rst cycle started by screening for raising awareness to quit smoking. 777 secondary school students grade 1st– 6th intended to participate this project, 54 students who smoked volunteered to participate in the smoking cessation program. Almost of the students recognized dangers and negative impacts on the health associated with smoking. They also collaborated with their teachers and the researchers to create a short movie focusing on how to motivate students to quit smoking. The second cycle involved the revision of the smoking cessation manual to increase its effectiveness -“Let’s quit smoking in 5 days”. The students provided buddies and a self-help group for smokers, and created a surveillance system to prevent new smokers. The teachers and students also initiated a policy to prohibit smoking in the school area, and collaborated with surrounding groceries to not selling cigarette to the students those who were under eighteen years old as mandated by the federal law. After 12 months of project implementation, the 54 students could stop smoking and the volunteers gained more experiences in running a school-based smoking cessation program. Student empowerment was achieved through their participation in raising the awareness about smoking problems and collaborating in the smoking cessation project planning, implementation and evaluation. Moreover, it was evident that student volunteers had become the model for another school in creating the motivators for smoking cessation, quit-smoking buddies and a supporting network among the parents and school teachers for smoking control, and building a good counselor which would help the project sustainability.
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