Large scale health promotion programmes using this approach are currently being attempted in at least six countries.6 So far successes in modification of smoking using both the media and skilstraininghavebeenreportedfromNorthKareliainFinland7 and Stanford University in California.8 In Finland, after a study carried out over five years, reductions in smoking prevalence from around 50% to 40/' occurred in a test community, but these were confounded by major national legislative changes which contributed to similar reductions in a control community. There was, however, a net absolute reduction of around 9% in the numbers of cigarettes smoked in the test community duringthetrialperiod.