Challenge
Nearly 1 in 5 (18%) young people in Britain have tried vaping – even though it’s illegal for under 18s to buy them.
Furthermore current vaping rates in this country are highest among 16 to 24 year olds.
Vapes are less harmful than cigarettes and they’re meant solely for adults who want to kick their tobacco habit. But they’re not harmless and there’s evidence that young people are more susceptible to the effects of nicotine and other chemicals in the product. Short term health effects can include headaches, sore throats and dizziness, and the long-term effects are unknown.
In a key sports college in South West London preventing, and reducing the level of, vaping was flagged as an important issue to improve young people’s well-being – and the leadership team were determined to proactively tackle the issue.
Solution
The London Borough of Sutton Council worked in partnership with the local sports college and Audience’s creative team to run a competition challenging young people in years 9 and 10 to come up with an impactive campaign brand, video and poster to educate young people about vaping and encourage them not to start.
Teams of pupils presented their innovative ideas to an ‘Apprentice-style’ panel of judges. ASM creative staff then worked closely with the winners to create the campaign.
The eventual campaign theme ‘RU being sucked in?’ reflects how young people feel under pressure to vape from different sources – social media, the ‘cool’ design and marketing of the product, peer pressure from friends, and easy access.
Having balanced and evidence-based messaging was a key issue. Vapes can be an effective way for adults to quit smoking – but they are age-restricted for a reason – as they’re not harmless, especially for young people. The agreed campaign brand ‘B Clear about Vaping’ encourages young people to be empowered and get the facts – and not be sucked into the habit via social pressure and seductive marketing.
The campaign is being communicated in schools and community spaces in parts of south west London via outdoor and indoor poster advertising, teacher education/school lessons, and ambient marketing in young people’s spaces (including banners in skate parks.)
In addition ASM’s creative team worked with the young people to create a short impactive video. It gives a starring role to the competition-winners as investigative news journalists, dispelling ‘the fake news’ and unearthing the facts about vaping. It’s being released on TikTok and Instagram. Watch it below.
Impact
It’s too early to say what the impact of the campaign will be – and an overall evaluation is planned later down the line – but it is one of very few co-created vaping education initiatives in this country targeting young people. We feel it’s a welcome contribution, led by young people themselves, in helping combat a growing and concerning public health issue for the future generation.
Ed Gyde, Audience Social Marketing’s CEO said:
‘While vapes are a valuable tool for helping adult smokers to quit cigarettes, they’re not meant for young people.
Vapes are not risk-free – and as children’s lungs and brains are still developing – they may be more sensitive to their effects. So it’s critical, as part of a wider programme of measures, that we create a discussion with young people around the key facts about vaping – and empower them to make healthy choices.’
