The transition from childhood to adolescence can be a time full of pressure and stress. Wanting to fit in with peers, trying to look the part, and experiencing rapid physical and brain development can all influence decisions that can affect people long term.
Knowing this, companies looking to capitalise on increased e-cigarette use (known as vaping) are meeting young people where they are at, pushing marketing of their products to hook a new generation on tobacco. Prominent representation on social media, vibrant flavours and colours, and using trending characters and designs bring young people in, and tobacco keeps them hooked.
However, the recently launched results of the OurFutures Vaping trial, which found a 65% reduction in past year vaping over 12 months, show us that young people are able to see through marketing trends – if they are also met where they are at.
The team are now considering whether acting sooner to give young people the evidence-based information they need at an earlier age will prevent uptake. To do this, the Matilda Centre has received funding from a philanthropic donor to expand the evidence-based OurFutures Vaping program to primary schools and test its effectiveness at a younger age.
To learn more about the program, we spoke to Associate Professor Emily Stockings, lead of the expansion, to learn more about the benefits of the program and what she would like to see from the project.
Tell us how the project started.
In 2023, the Philanthropy team at University of Sydney approached the Matilda Centre vaping team with a potential opportunity to fund a school-based prevention program. Based on the success of the OurFutures Vaping program for high school students and the growing rate of vaping in pre-teens, we decided to pitch the idea of expanding the OurFutures Vaping program into primary schools to target Years 5 and 6 kids.
The funder loved the idea, we were successful in receiving the donation, and the project was born!
Why do we need to be teaching primary school kids about vaping?
There is emerging evidence in Australia that people are beginning to vape as young as age 10. At the moment there are no evidence-based resources to prevent vaping in this younger, primary school cohort, leaving students, teachers and parents feeling at a loss for how to respond.
Young children are also particularly vulnerable to industry influence and peer pressure, as their prefrontal cortex is still highly immature.
Overlayed with this vulnerable stage of life is the impending transition to secondary school, which brings with it new social influences, a bigger peer group and exposure to older children who are likely experimenting with drugs. We need to be teaching primary school kids about vaping so they are armed with the knowledge and skills to successfully navigate this transition and to prevent early onset of vaping, which can lead to long term nicotine and other substance addiction.
The OurFutures Vaping program for high schoolers has recently found a 65% reduction in intent to vape after taking the program. How will this program differ from that one?
The primary school Our Futures Vaping Program - called “Our Futures Vaping (Kids)” will contain all of the same ‘essential ingredients’ of the high school program, but with adaptations to suit a younger audience of 10–12-year-olds. The essential ingredients include provision of skills and knowledge around vaping and other nicotine and tobacco products, normative education, understanding industry influence and practicing assertive refusal skills.
Adaptations will include less reliance on screens, with a dedicated workbook per child, as well as some online animation content, younger characters, and primary-school relevant storylines. We are also ramping up the teacher and parent components with dedicated workbooks and conversation cheat-sheets, as they have a stronger influence and role while children are still in primary school.
Photo: Initial designs for the OurFutures Vaping characters, targeting primary school age children. Supplied
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LinkWhat do you hope to see as an outcome of the project?
Our initial project is a single-group, pre-post trial to test feasibility and acceptability of the pilot program. We would love for this to turn into a fully powered trial in the years to come, and then ultimately, the program being rolled out to all primary schools in Australia, just as the OurFutures Vaping secondary school program has been.
Think of it as a primer for the secondary program, so that we have continued, evidence-based prevention across the full spectrum from early childhood through to adolescence and young adulthood (with the in-development booster modules for senior years in high school!).
Interested in learning more about how your school can be part of the OurFutures Vaping primary school expansion? Get in touch at matilda.centre@sydney.edu.au today!