A program that recruited "cool" adolescents to discourage their peers from smoking was able to cut youth-smoking initiation by 25 percent, Reuters reported May 9.

The study, which involved 59 schools in England and Wales and 11,000 students ages 12-13, compared the peer-led intervention to standard stop-smoking campaigns. Students were asked to nominate their most influential classmates, who were then given training on the risks of smoking and the benefits of quitting. These leaders then disseminated the information to their classmates during their ordinary interactions and conversations.

Researchers found that students in the peer-led group were 23 percent less likely to start smoking after one year than those engaged in standard smoking prevention programs, and 15 percent less likely to start smoking after two years.

"The important thing this shows is that young people can help each other from taking up the addictive habit of smoking," said study co-author Rona Campbell of the University of Bristol. "If the program was taken up widely it could cut the recruitment of new smokers significantly."

The research was published in the May 10, 2008 issue of the journal The Lancet.