The INTENT programme was developed by team of psychologists at the University of Leeds and its use is now being supported by the social enterprise Evidence to Impact.
Thousands of secondary school pupils in North East Lincolnshire are receiving support and education to encourage them not to take up smoking. The council has used a world-leading programme called INTENT to deliver the smoking prevention work.
How the programme works
The INTENT programme was developed by team of psychologists at the University of Leeds and its use is now being supported by the social enterprise Evidence to Impact.
It involves delivering two lessons a year to pupils from years seven to 10. During the lessons pupils are provided with information about smoking, covering everything from its impact on health to the financial cost of it.
The council started using the INTENT programme in 2022 after purchasing the product. It works out at less than £1 per pupil and is due to run for four years. It is based on a train-the-trainer model with the INTENT team providing training to members of the council’s public health team, including school nursing. Teachers have then been trained to deliver the programme.
As part of the lessons, pupils think about what they would say if they were offered a cigarette in a series of “if this happens … then I will do this.” The scenarios are created to help develop the resilience to deal with pressure from friends or associates to smoke. Now in its second year vaping has been incorporated into the lessons too.
“The aim is not to tell children what to do,” said Adam Johnston, North East Lincolnshire’s Wellbeing Service Manager. “Research shows that is not effective. Instead, it is about providing them with the right information to enable informed choices.
“During the lessons they discuss everything about smoking from the health risks to the ingredients in cigarettes and how much it can end up costing.
“We know that during these years many children are tempted to take up smoking and if we can reduce the numbers trying it and going on to become regular users, we can have a major impact.”
‘We’ve had a fantastic response’
According to research, 25.6 per cent of the students that received INTENT are less likely to report having ever smoked than those that did not participate in the programme.
Mr Johnston said: “From our last adolescent lifestyle survey in 2021 we know locally that 17.1 per cent of students have tried smoking at least once with 4.2 per cent regular smokers and with much higher amounts of young people vaping. We would hope to see that figure fall when we next survey.
“It is in year 11 that smoking prevalence is highest. However, we see an increase from year nine so that is why it is important to start prevention as early as possible at the beginning of secondary school. It gives you the best chance of preventing smoking because they have the tools and knowledge they need before they reach the age where they may be more tempted.
“The message is the same for vaping. While it is useful to help people quit smoking, vaping is not something we want children to start doing.”
The council has got 10 schools signed up to the programme, including all the secondary academies, as well as the local pupil referral units, meaning more than 8,000 pupils are being reached.
In total training has been provided to all teachers providing PSHE lessons and some PE staff. The schools receive access to all lesson plans, interactive white board resources, guidance and support to help them deliver the education sessions.
Mr Johnston said: “We have had a fantastic response from schools. Getting buy in from school leaders is essential for a programme like this. We have an officer, Laura Peggs, who is the wellbeing lead for schools. She has a great relationship with them all and is the lead of this programme which has really helped us get this launched.”
‘We want children to recognise dangers’
Those who are involved are full of praise. Natalie Potter, a teacher at Orchard School, said: “INTENT has gone well in all of our classes and all of our learners engaged well with the session. We particularly thought the vaping content made the biggest impact due to the rise of young people taking up vaping.”
Councillor Margaret Cracknell, Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People in North East Lincolnshire, is delighted too. “Cigarettes are a real problem – particularly in places like North East Lincolnshire. As we know, smoking has been shown to cause significant health problems, with around 78,000 people dying each year to smoking-related illness.
“It’s also an expensive habit to maintain and contributes significantly to some of the litter that blights our environment. We want young people to know and be able to recognise the dangers of smoking well before they are ever offered a cigarette, and to be equipped with the confidence to say ‘no’.”