Effectiveness evaluation of the school-based drug prevention program #Tamojunto in Brazil: 21-month follow-up of a randomized controlled trial

Findings The incidence analysis showed a negative effect of the program for alcohol initiation (aHR = 1.13, 95%CI 1.01; 127) but an opposite protective effect for the initiation of inhalant use (aHR = 0.79, 95%CI 0.66; 0.95). After 21 months, the prevalence of past-year use of alcohol changed from 30.1% to 49.8% in the intervention group and from 29.9% to 45.8% in the control group. Adolescents in the intervention group were 30% more likely to have reported past-year use of alcohol than students in the control group at 21 months (aOR = 1.30, 95%CI 1.02; 1.65). No effects of the program on past-month drug use were found. The Brazilian version of the Unplugged program may be misinterpreted by public school students, perhaps arousing their curiosity regarding alcohol use.