5.31 Harnessing predictors of uptake to prevent smoking
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The National Tobacco Strategy138 advocates that there is a need to link with programs outside tobacco control to address underlying determinants of smoking and create environments that support people not to smoke. This includes investing in programs designed to strengthen community and cultural resources—programs to reduce the chance of educational failure, family conflict, loss of cultural identity and the development of mental health problems. Positive changes from these programs may well reduce uptake among young people of smoking as well as other health-compromising behaviours.138 Of particular relevance to youth smoking prevention, the Strategy endorses broader government policies and programs which address the underlying causes of disadvantage in our community—for instance, efforts to reduce family conflict and to improve school effectiveness. These measures have strong potential to improve the proportion of students feeling a connectedness with school, and improved academic achievement, both highly protective against smoking uptake9(see Section 5.9 above).
5.31.1 Sport and physical activity as protective factors
Research has suggested that physical activity and sport participation is negatively associated with cigarette smoking among young people.331, 332 A recent study found that teens who participate in a wide variety of physical activities, particularly with their parents, are at decreased risk for smoking and other risk factors such as drinking, drugs, violence, smoking, early sexual activity and delinquency, compared to teens who watch a lot of television.245
Another study found that adolescents exhibiting decreasing and erratic team sport participation were more likely to be current smokers than adolescents with low or high sport participation. This study further concluded that adolescents with decreasing team sport participation are at increased risk of later smoking.333 Rodriguez followed this research by examining adolescents' perceptions of their physical self,334 concluding that physical activity plays a part in influencing perception of their physical self and is an important factor to consider in youth smoking interventions. The positive relationship between sport participation and perception of physical self is supported by other research in this area.335
While this is not to say that scarce tobacco control resources should be redirected to physical activity and other health programs for young people, there are synergies that can be realised. Sport and recreational 'health promotion sponsorship'221, 336 is an example of such a synergy that has been harnessed by some other states and territories. For example, through Healthway, Smarter than Smoking has sponsored about 60 youth related sports and arts events or activities annually, with promotional strategies such as signage and merchandise, message endorsement by role models, competitions, and structural strategies prohibiting smoking or the sale of tobacco products at sponsored events. Other ways in which those in tobacco control can harness sport as a protective factor against smoking include supporting and encouraging programs that target physical activity and other positive health behaviours among youth populations at higher risk of smoking, and emphasising the detrimental effects of smoking on fitness in information and messages targeting adolescents.
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