Data from Arlington High School's class of 2005 used in smoking study

ARLINGTON — Data from Arlington High School's class of 2005 was recently published from a randomized trial meant to study and curtail teenage smoking.

The trial, which was conducted by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, found that nearly 22 percent teen smokers using personalized and proactive telephone counseling were able to stop smoking during a six month period compared to only about 18 percent of participating students who did not.

Results were published in a pair of scientific articles in the Oct. 12 online edition of the "Journal of the National Cancer Institute." The findings were reported by Arthur V. Peterson Jr., Ph. D, Kathleen A. Kealey and colleagues in the Hutchinson Center's Cancer Prevention Program.

The trial was funded by the National Institute of Health. More than 2,000 smokers from 50 Washington state high schools participated in the study.

Half of the high school seniors were invited to take part in the confidential telephone counseling program while the other half did not participate in the program.

Arlington High School students took part in the counseling program. Their specific results were not released.

The study also helped smokers abstain from smoking for three-month, one-month and seven-day periods at a higher percentage than those who did not participate in the program.

"We admiringly applaud and thank the administrators and staff of Arlington High School and the class of 2005 and their parents for their terrific interest and cooperation, which were so essential to the success of this pioneering study," Peterson said in a release.