Determining the Impact of the ASP Health Club’s Non-Smoking Initiative Awareness Campaign on Elementary Students’ Exposure to Second-Hand Smoking

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the ASP Heart Health Club awareness campaigns had an effect on children’s exposure to second-hand smoke or not. The sample we have chosen was a random sample, with a number of approximately two hundred participants composed of both genders. The study targeted students from the age of eight through ten. The study was a qualitative one, including a question in the form of a survey about students’ lifestyle, specifically their exposure to second hand smoke at home. The data was collected recorded and analyzed thrice over the course of the school year. The first data point was collected prior to the initiation of the campaign and twice more after the campaign. It seems that our awareness campaign has had a slight impact on the children’s behavior regarding those who smoke around them. More research needs to be done on educating children about the negative effects of second-hand smoke and finding ways for children to influence the adults around them about healthy choices for their households and the public places where there may be smoking present.