<![CDATA[Introduction: Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to smoking initiation, and insufficient knowledge about its health risks can contribute to early smoking habits. Health education using interactive video media is considered an effective approach to improve students’ understanding of smoking hazards and promote awareness of associated health risks. Methods: This quasi-experimental study employed a pretest-posttest design without a control group and involved 75 eighth-grade students at SMPN 1 Kaliwedi, Cirebon. Students’ knowledge of smoking hazards was measured using a 19-item validated questionnaire adapted from previous research. The educational intervention consisted of an interactive video presentation delivered during a single session, after which students’ knowledge was reassessed using the same questionnaire. Data normality was assessed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to evaluate the effect of the intervention. Results: Pretest results showed that 53.3% of students had low knowledge, 45.4% had moderate knowledge, and 1.3% had high knowledge of smoking hazards. After the video-based intervention, posttest results indicated that 98.7% of students achieved high knowledge, 1.3% moderate knowledge, and none had low knowledge. The Wilcoxon test revealed a significant increase in knowledge (pretest mean = 9.51, SD = 2.617; posttest mean = 18.13, SD = 0.920; p < 0.001), demonstrating the effectiveness of the intervention. Conclusion: Video-based health education significantly improved students’ knowledge of smoking hazards, highlighting its potential as an effective tool in school health programs. Further research is recommended to evaluate long-term knowledge retention, behavioral changes, and attitude improvements related to smoking prevention.]]>
