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This study had two objectives. The first was to assess the frequency and content of school-based anti-smoking education received by Romanian adolescents aged 14-15. Secondly, the study aimed to evaluate to what extent the implementation of a specific 5 lessons smoking prevention program influences the quality of anti-smoking school education among Romanian adolescents. The investigation was performed in twenty schools from Cluj- Napoca, Romania, which were randomly assigned to the control and experimental conditions, resulting in 55 participating classes from the seventh grade (28 in the control group and 27 in the experimental group). The experimental group participated in a school-based smoking prevention program consisting of 5 lessons. The control group beneficiated only in the standard anti-smoking education offered by their schools. Six months after the program implementation, students from both experimental and control groups filled in a questionnaire, assessing several issues regarding their exposure to anti-smoking school education in the last year. The results showed a low exposure to anti-smoking school education among the Romanian adolescents. The implementation of the specific school-based smoking prevention program increased the exposure of Romanian adolescents to a higher number of lessons of smoking prevention and influenced positively the quality of these lessons. The study identified several gaps with respect to anti-smoking education in Romanian schools. It underlines the benefits of the implementation of a school based smoking prevention program with a clear structure, which contains appropriate educational messages and it is easy to implement.

School-based health education has the potential to inform and educate young people, in order to promote healthy behaviours among them, which will help to prevent diseases and social problems. The present study gives an overview of several ethical issues which must be considered in different phases of school-based smoking prevention programs. This will help health educators, public health professionals and researchers in their activity of health education in schools. The ethical issues must be taken into consideration during all the activities and refer to the involvement of officials, schools, parents, young people who participate into the program, authors and persons/institutions responsible with the implementation, evaluation or funding of the programs. The application into practice of these ethical principles, influence the quality of the health education, its acceptability BY the target group and the correctness of results. Also, it prevents possible problems and misunderstandings between persons and institutions involved in the health education and smoking prevention process, which could seriously affect and even destroy implementation of such health education activities.

A cross-sectional research study was carried out among Romanian adolescents to identify gender differences in beliefs and behaviour regarding smoking. A written survey was conducted among 473 students aged 15-17 years from 5 senior high schools in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. All students filed in a questionnaire which assessed their smoking-related behaviour. The results show that one quarter (24.5%) of the subjects were smokers, a significant differences was noticed, regarding the prevalence of smoking between boys (32.2%) and girls (20.9%). Smoking behaviour served a stronger function for smoking girls to remain slim, while smoking boys had stronger beliefs that smoking helped them to relax. Self-efficacy expectations to handle emotional situations without smoking were significantly lower in smoking girls than in smoking boys. Moreover, in comparison with non-smoking boys, non-smoking girls reported low self-efficacy to maintain their non-smoking status when upset, depressed or nervous, and a stronger intention to start smoking than non-smoking boys. Non-smoking boys reported stronger pressures to smoke from their peers in the same school year. These findings have several implications for smoking prevention and reduction activities in Romania. First, smoking prevention programs should strengthen positive attitudes towards non-smoking, resistance against peer influences and enhance self-efficacy beliefs. Second, smoking prevention and reduction activities should address the fact that smoking is seen by Romanian girls as a way to control their weight, and as a way to relax by boys, and thus need to offer other healthier alternatives to realize these outcomes. Additionally, they need to address strategies to cope with emotional situations, in particular for girls.

Introduction: According to a National Study inside The European School Survey Project on Alcohol and other Drugs, 64% of schoolchildren aged 16 in Romania have ever smoked at least one cigarette. Starting 2005, volunteers from NGO "Aer Pur Romania (APR)" have become involved in European projects targeting smoke free schoolchildren and adolescents., Methods: "Smoke-free class" competition project, was co-funded by EU, implemented first time in the school year 2004/2005 by the APR and Romanian National Anti- Drug Agency (RNDA) and was run annually ever since. The OBJECTIVE was smoking prevention among secondary school children aged 11-15. Classes decide to be a non-smoking class for a period of four months (at least 90% of class students decided to be non smokers during the program). The program was implemented in 5 counties in 2004/2005 and starting 2006 at national level. groups of 20-25 participants were given 6 classes about smoking induced harm, benefits of quitting smoking. Smoking status was determined in the first session by carbon monoxide (CO) measurement in exhaled air, than quitting smoking was encouraged and supported along sessions 2-5 and finally, with confirmation in session 6 of smoking status by CO. "Quit and Win" (Q&W) contest, aimed to encourage young smokers to stop smoking. Target group was 14-18 years old high school pupils, in 5 big towns of Romania. They had to refrain from smoking for 30 days. "I do not smoke" was a program funded by the Royal Embassy of Netherlands in Romania and was implemented by APR and RNDA, Romanian Ministry of Education and University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Cluj-Napoca., Results: ASC involved 231 adolescents from 8 high schools that graduated the program (132 girls and 99 boys), 19 quitters (8.2%), 20 reducers and 48 participants tried to stop smoking at least once during the project. Six months evaluation showed 10 adolescents still abstinent and 4 still reducers. IDNS was done in 2006 with 27 classes aged 13/14 from Cluj-Napoca. Q&W was developed between 1 October- 30 November 2005, 6000 registration forms were distributed in 35 high schools from cities of Bucharest, Iasi, Cluj, Constanta and Timisoara. 67.3% of interviewed subjects registered for the contest, meaning 4038 persons, 24% current smokers and 76% never smokers., Conclusion: Tobacco prevention needs long term control measures, having joint governmental, NGO and academic institutions initiatives, to assist teenagers to quit and to help them not to start.

This paper reviews data regarding the effects of the legislation banning smoking in enclosed public places, including workplaces, restaurants and bars which entered into force in several countries of Europe starting with the year 2004. The source of data is represented by articles and short information published in peer reviewed journals or in electronic format between the years 2005 and 2008. Highlights include a consideration of the effects of these laws on the attitudes of the population regarding their implementation, exposure to passive smoking in public places as well as the scientific evidence on the public health and economic impact of these laws. The results of smoking ban in public places observed in several parts of Europe support initiatives in many countries toward implementing smoke-free legislation, particularly those who have ratified the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which calls for legislation to reduce tobacco smoke pollution.

Namen: Za razvoj učinkovitih programov za preprečevanje kajenja med mladostniki je potrebna raziskava, ki bi opredelila zanesljive dejavnike začetka kajenja, značilne za posamezno državo. Cilj te študije je bil oceniti kognitivne in socialno-demografske dejavnike, povezane z začetkom kajenja med romunskimi mladostniki, in sicer na podlagi presečnih in vzporedno primerljivih podatkov.