Do students' perceptions of school smoking policies influence where students smoke?: Canada's Youth Smoking Survey

• Published in: Cancer causes & control 2010-12, Vol.21 (12), p.2085-2092
• Main Authors: Watts, Allison W, Lovato, Chris Y, Card, Antony, Manske, Steve R
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Canada - epidemiology; Cancer Research; Cigarette smoking; Data Collection; Education policy; Elementary schools; Enforcement; Epidemiology; Female; Health behavior; Hematology; Humans; Industrialized nations; issues and policy; Male; Military bases; Oncology; Organizational Policy; Original Paper; Perception - physiology; Prevention; Public Health; School campuses; School health; Schools - legislation & jurisprudence; Schools - organization & administration; Smoking; Smoking - epidemiology; Smoking - legislation & jurisprudence; Smoking cessation; Social Environment; Student surveys; Students; Students - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Teenagers; Tobacco; Tobacco policy; Tobacco Smoke Pollution - legislation & jurisprudence; Tobacco smoking; Urban schools; Young Adult; Youth Smoking Survey
• ISSN: 0957-5243; 1573-7225
• DOI: 10.1007/s10552-010-9627-1

Objective The objective of this study was to explore students' perceptions of school policy characteristics that influence the location of smoking while at school. Methods Data were collected from a nationally representative sample of Canadian youth in grades 7-12 as part of the 2006-2007 Youth Smoking Survey. We used multilevel logistic regression to examine how students' perceptions of school policies predicted smoking behavior on and off school grounds in 11,881 students who had ever smoked. Separate analyses were conducted for grades 7-9 and 10-12. Results In both grades 7-9 and 10-12, perceiving clear rules about smoking decreased the likelihood that a student would smoke on school grounds, while perceiving that a high percentage of peers smoke, that there are school rules about smoking, that students obey the rules, and that students can be fined for smoking increased the likelihood that a student would smoke off school grounds. Conclusions Clearly perceived rules about smoking encourage students not to smoke on school grounds; however, perceptions of rules, along with strong enforcement, may displace behavior off of school grounds. Non-smoking policies should be part of a comprehensive approach, that supports cessation.