Can emotional intelligence training cause a cease in tobacco smoking among school-going adolescents?

Emotional intelligence training intervention was used to reduce tobacco smoking consumption among school-going adolescents in state of Edo, Nigeria. The pre-test post-test experimental design was observed. While the 90 participants were purposively selected from the schools that were randomly assigned to EIT (45) and control groups (45). Analysis of covariance and independent t-tests were used for data analysis. The emotional intelligence training intervention significantly improved tobacco smoking cessation of school-going adolescents with pre-test and post-test mean scores of 33.12 (33.12%) and 21.25 (21.25%), respectively. The participants exposed to EIT (Mean = 21.25; SD = 2.68) gained more those in the control group (Mean = 42.79; SD = 14.21). The interaction effect of the treatment and sex was also significant. Conclusively, the emotional intelligence training intervention was effective in tobacco smoking cessation among school-going adolescents, though cessation response could be sex-dependent. © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.