1. Smoking education workshops
delivered in Swindon Schools.
Report - August 2016
Bobby Singh-Landa - Youth Development Officer
Dr Steven Macey - Research and Policy Officer

2. Contents
Introduction
Method
Findings
Differences in schools
Value added for Welsh Government
Principle findings
Discussions
Acknowledgements
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3
5
10
11
13
14
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3. Introduction
The aim of this report is to provide an insight into
young people’s attitudes towards tobacco use and
smoking.
The work was delivered in ten different schools
throughout the Borough of Swindon. The project
was delivered between September 2015 and July
2016.
The initial aim of the project was to deliver a
smoking and tobacco based intervention to year
seven children between the ages of 11-12. The Filter
project who specifically works with young people
between the ages of 11-25 on issues around tobacco was commissioned by Swindon Borough
Council’s healthy schools team to deliver the body of work.
The findings of the following report are based upon the evaluation questionnaires filled out
after each session was completed in each school.
In total The Filter project delivered the intervention to 1647 young people across Swindon.
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4. Method
A number of trained youth work and smoking cessation
professionals from ASH Wales delivered a variety of fun,
interactive and informative smoking lessons to young people.
ASH Wales used a mixture of presentations, role play and
station based workshops which cover different topic areas
of smoking. The Filter members of staff were able to inform
the young people about the dangers of smoking, before
providing a recap of the whole session to make sure the
young people had learned new information.
The interventions took place with 1647 young people across ten schools. Every one of
the young people who participated in the session filled out an evaluation form and they
participated in a group exercise that aimed to measure their existing knowledge of smoking
and tobacco. The young people were placed into groups and had to create a spider diagram
based around their existing knowledge about smoking and tobacco. They were then required
to feedback on their knowledge to the group and a member of The Filter staff would correct or
enhance this information.
The evaluation questionnaire contained four questions;
• Gender? - Male/Female
• After our session are you more likely to give up/never start smoking? - Yes/No
• After our sessions which of the following do you know more about? - Dangers of Smoking/
Risks to health/ Cost of Smoking/ Image of smoking/ Electronic cigarettes/ Stereotyping/
Why people start smoking/ How to quit smoking/ Where to go to get advice about or info on
quitting smoking/ Companies that sell cigarette/ Anything else you know more about follow
our session?
• On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is not harmful at all and 10 is extremely harmful, how harmful
do you think it is to smoke cigarettes?
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The pre-formative and summative assessment techniques were consistent throughout the
sessions across the eight different schools. The rest of the sessions themselves were not
wholly consistent and varied from school to school. Some schools were able to look at the
chemical effects of smoking in greater detail and some schools were able to design and
perform small plays showing different smoking scenarios. The difference in the content of
each session was due to the different amount of time each school could give The Filter to
work with their young people. Some schools could only spare 30 minutes for groups that
exceeded 200 young people at one time. Other schools were able to split the young people
into smaller groups of 20-30 and give The Filter an hour with each.

5. After three sessions it was decided by Swindon
Borough Council and The Filter to try and
standardise the sessions as much as possible.
A lesson plan was created by The Filter with the
help of Swindon Borough Council.
It was decided that using a slideshow and
graphic images of the effects of smoking would
be effective in explaining the damage that
could be done to the body. The young people
were also required to complete a body mapping
exercise which meant they could demonstrate
the knowledge they had learned through the
graphic image slideshow. During the slideshow,
images that described the different chemicals in
cigarettes were also shown. One of the final parts
of the new session plan was to provide young
people with a class quiz. The young people would
answer questions based around information that
was contained in the session.
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6. Findings
In total, 1647 surveys were completed with 46% (n=762)
done so by males and 49% (n=808) by females. In
terms of ages, all of the participants were in year 7
and aged 11-12. The evaluation forms were completed
in ten different schools in Swindon, with a different
number of responses per school: Kingsdown School
(14%), Commonweal School (12%), Highworth Warneford
School (17%), Isambard School (12%), Swindon Academy
(5%), Nova Hreod (6%), St Joseph’s School (8%), Ridgeway
School (7%), Lydiard Park Academy (12%) and Churchfields
Academy (9%). All of the schools covered different areas
in Swindon.
A significant amount of participants said they were more
likely to give up or never start smoking as a result of The Filter’s
session; 84% (n=1371). Only 8% (n=127) said they were not more likely to give up or never start
smoking as a result of The Filter’s session, which was less than the 9% of participants who did
not provide an answer to the question.
Figure 1:
After our session are you more likely to give up/never start smoking?
5
84%(n=1371)
of the participants said they were more
likely to give up or never start smoking
after taking part in our programme.

7. The topics a majority of participants knew more about following The Filter’s sessions were
the ‘Dangers of smoking’ in which 86% of participants (n=1414) had an increased knowledge
and ‘Risks to health’ in which (80% , n=1302) exhibited increased knowledge. The lowest
percentage in terms of participants knowing more about the topic were ‘Companies that sell
cigarettes’ (20%, n=331). The most popular answer to the open ended question; ‘What topics
do you know more about?’ was the ‘chemicals found in cigarettes.’
86% (n=1414)
of young people know more
about the dangers of smoking
after taking part in our programme.
Figure 2:
After our session which of the following do you know more about?
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8. Participants were asked to rate on scale a between 1 and 10 how harmful they thought it
was to smoke a cigarette, with 1 being not harmful and 10 being extremely harmful. The most
popular response was extremely harmful - 10 with 755 participants choosing this. Only eleven
participants thought smoking was not harmful. On average participants rated smoking 9 out of
10 in terms of its level of harmfulness.
Figure 3:
After our session which of the following do you know more about?
Figure 4:
On a scale of 1 to 10 how harmful do you think it is to smoke cigarettes?
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Answer Options Response Percent Response Count
Dangers of smoking 86.3% 1414
Risks to health 79.5% 1302
Cost of smoking 45.7% 748
Image of smoking 47.7% 782
Electronic cigarettes 43.0% 704
stereotyping 18.7% 306
Why people start smoking 40.8% 668
How to quit smoking 36.9% 604
Where to get advice/info on quitting smoking 35.5% 581
Companies that sell cigarettes 20.2% 331
No answer provided 1.1% 18
Other (please specify) 195
Answered question 1638
Skipped question 17

9. Gender differences
84% of males (n=631) and 87% of females (n=696) said they more likely to give up smoking
or never start smoking after The Filter’s session. There was not a significant difference
between males and females in terms of the likelihood they would give up or never start
smoking after The Filter’s session.
Figure 5:
On a scale of 1 to 10 how harmful do you think it is to smoke cigarettes?
Figure 6:
Gender – After our sessions are you more likely to give up/never start smoking?
In terms of which topics each gender learned more about as a result of The Filter’s session,
there were only big differences in ‘Stereotyping’ in which there was a 10% higher response
by males. 8% more males relative to females said they knew more about why people start
smoking, whilst 13% more males said they knew how to quit smoking compared to females.
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Level of Harmfulness Number of responses
Not Harmful 1 11
2 1
3 2
4 4
5 19
6 29
7 93
8 253
9 333
Extremely harmful 10 755
Rating Average 9
Response Count 1500
After our session are you more likely to give up/never start smoking?
Answer Options Male Female Response Percent Response Count
Yes 631 696 85.2% 1327
No 64 57 7.8% 121
No answer provided 60 50 7.1% 110
Answered question 1558
Skipped question 12

10. 9
The most noticeable statistic from how harmful males and females thought that smoking a
cigarette was after the Filter’s session was 44% of males (n=293) thought it was extremely
dangerous, whilst 56% (n=423) of females thought this was the case. The rest of the rating
scales were similar between males and females.
Figure 7:
Gender – After our session which of the following do you know more about?
Figure 8:
Gender – On a scale of 1 to 10 how harmful do you think it is to smoke cigarettes?
Answer Options Q2. Male Q2. Female Total
Respondents
Dangers of smoking 84.39% (638) 87.86% (702) 1,340
Risks to health 78.84% (596) 79.72% (637) 1,233
Cost of smoking 48.68% (368) 42.30% (338) 706
Image of smoking 49.60% (375) 45.81% (366) 741
Electronic cigarettes 45.63% (345) 40.18% (321) 666
Stereotyping 23.94% (181) 13.52% (108) 289
Why people start smoking 44.58% (337) 36.92 (295) 632
How to quit smoking 42.86% (324) 30.16% (241) 565
Where to get advice/info on quitting
smoking
38.49% (291) 31.79% (254) 545
Companies that sell cigarettes 23.68% (179) 16.02% (128) 307
No answer provided 1.46% (11) 0.88% (7) 18
Total 234.41% (3,645) 218.46% (3,397) 1,555
Other (please specify 72 Responses 110 Responses
Not
harmful 1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Extremely
harmful 10
Total
Male 1.49% (10) 0.00%
(0)
0.00%
(0)
0.45%
(3)
2.08%
(14)
2.97%
(20)
7.28%
(49)
19.76%
(133)
22.44%
(151)
43.54%
(293)
47.00%
(673)
Female 0.13% (1) 0.13%
(1)
0.26%
(2)
0.13%
(1)
0.53%
(4)
1.05%
(8)
5.40%
(41)
15.15%
(115)
21.48%
(163)
55.73%
(423)
53.00
(759)

11. Differences in Schools
In terms of gender split St Joeseph’s Academy had the greatest gender percentage
split; female (57%), male (39%) split. Nova Hreod had a higher percentage of males (56%),
female (42%). Lydiard Park Academy was the only school with an equal gender split of
46% for each gender.
Figure 9:
Difference in Schools – Gender of participants. (Percentage)
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Gender %Male %Female
Kingsdown 43 54
Churchfields 55 40
Commonweal 46 49
Highworth 49 48
Isambard 45 54
Lydiard park 46 46
Nova Hreod 56 42
Ridgeway 45 48
St Joseph’s 39 57
Swindon Acad 38 53

12. Nova Hreod Academy (90%) and Isambard School (80%) were the schools that reported
the highest percentage of pupils who that would be likely to give up smoking or never
start after the Filter’s session. Ridgeway School (18%) had the highest percentage of any
school that said they were not going to be more likely to give up smoking or never start.
Figure 10:
Difference in Schools – Are you more likely to give up smoking or never start?
(Percentage).
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After our session are you more likely
to give up/never start smoking?
% Yes % No
Kingsdown 79 8
Churchfields 81 10
Commonweal 88 8
Highworth 82 6
Isambard 89 4
Lydiard park 81 2
Nova Hreod 90 10
Ridgeway 81 18
St Joseph’s 82 10
Swindon Acad 89 10

13. Commonweal School (70%) and Lydiard Park Academy (64%) had the highest percentage of
participants who rated smoking as 10-Extremely Harmful on the scale 1-10 harmfulness scale.
All of the other schools had percentages between 30% and 55%. Isambard School had 2% of
participants who said smoking was not harmful at all; this was the highest result amongst all
of the schools with the rest of the schools percentages ranging from 0% to 1%.
Figure 11:
Difference in Schools – On a scale of 1 to 10 how harmful do you think it is to
smoke cigarettes? Results for 1- Not harmful and 10 – Extremely harmful displayed.
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On a scale of 1 to 10 how harmful do
you think it is to smoke cigarettes?
% 1-Not harmful % 10-Extremely harmful
Kingsdown 1 47
Churchfields 1 30
Commonweal 1 70
Highworth 0.4 55
Isambard 2 44
Lydiard park 1 64
Nova Hreod 1 58
Ridgeway 0 37
St Joseph’s 0 38
Swindon Acad 0 45

14. Principal findings
• Highworth Warnerford School (17%) and Kingsdown School (14%) had the greatest
number of young people participating in the study. The two schools accounted
for 31% of participants for the whole study.
• A significant amount of participants said they were more likely to give up or
never start smoking as a result of The Filter’s session; 84%. Only 8% said they
were not more likely to give up or never start smoking as a result of The Filter’s
session.
• The topics a majority of participants knew more about following The Filter’s
sessions were the ‘Dangers of smoking’ in which 86% of participants knew
more about and ‘Risks to health’ in which 80% knew more about. The lowest
percentage in terms of participants knowing more about the topic were
‘Companies that sell cigarettes’ (20%.)
• The most popular response to how harmful participants thought smoking was
on a scale of 1-10 was extremely harmful - 10 with 755 participants. Only eleven
participants thought smoking was not harmful. On average participants rated
smoking 9 out of 10 in terms of its level of harmfulness.
• There was not a significant difference between males (84%) and females (87%)
in terms of the participants who said they were more likely to give up or never
start smoking after The Filter’s session.
• The biggest gender differences in terms of the topics learnt after The Filter’s
session was ‘Stereotyping’; (24% male and 14% female), ‘Why people start
smoking’; (45% male and 37% female) and ‘How to quit smoking’ (43% male and
30% female).
• Lydiard Park Academy was the only school with an equal gender split of 46% for
each gender.
• Nova Hreod Academy (90%) and Isambard School (80%) were the schools
that reported the highest percentage of pupils that would be likely to give up
smoking or never start after The Filter’s session. Ridgeway School (18%) had
the highest percentage of any school that said they were not going to be more
likely to give up smoking or never start.
• Commonweal School (70%) and Lydiard Park Academy (64%) had the highest
percentage of participants who rated smoking as 10-Extremely Harmful on the
scale 1-10 harmfulness scale. All of the other schools had percentages between
30% and 55%.
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15. Discussion
• The findings presented in this report show that a significant number of young
people were positively affected by The Filter’s smoking session. A majority of
young people said they were more likely not to start smoking and more likely to
quit. Young people learned most about; risks to health and dangers of smoking,
and this suggests that many of the young people who viewed the images that
showed the effects of smoking have been affected.
• In terms of harmfulness, many young people recognised the dangers of
smoking cigarettes. Only 11 young people said smoking cigarettes was not
harmful, this could mean there were not a large number of smokers amongst
the participants.
• There was little difference in comparing results between males and females in
terms of their subject knowledge, except in the case of ‘Stereotyping’, ‘How to
quit smoking’ and ‘Why people start smoking’ in which males said they knew
significantly more about. This could mean males had a better understanding of
what those topics meant, as well as having more confidence in being able to
discuss those issues after learning more about them after The Filter’s session.
More work around stereotyping, how to quit smoking and looking at the reasons
why people smoke should be done with young females.
• Ridgeway school had the highest percentage of participants who said they
were not more likely to give up or ever start smoking after The Filter’s session,
further smoking education should be delivered in this school.
• In terms of the ages of participants, it could be beneficial to extend young
people’s knowledge around issues related to tobacco and smoking. This would
mean working with a younger age group focussing on preventative education,
and working with older year groups focussing on smoking cessation workshops.
• This may result in working with primary schools and more secondary schools.
In order to make more inferences from the data it would be advantageous to
include the home postcodes of the young people. Through this information it
would be possible to focus on the link between deprivation and smoking.
• All of the sessions delivered should be as standardised as possible. Although it
would be unrealistic to have an equal amount of participants from each school,
having a fairly equal percentage of participants per school would increase the
validity of the study.
• A meeting with teaching staff before sessions are delivered to young people
would enable the teaching staff to complement the sessions and have a
greater understanding in terms of the structure of the session and what ASH
Wales and Swindon Borough Council are trying to achieve.
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16. • After sessions are delivered it would be helpful to inform the young people about
the session they have participated in through a summary leaflet. A summary
leaflet could also be used to help inform families of the young people who may
be subjecting their children to second hand smoke.
• It is also essential to ensure all schools have the correct facilities in order to
enable The Filter to deliver effective sessions; this can range from projectors,
microphones, tables, classrooms and halls.
• It is also recommended that schools are able to give at least one hour of time
per set of 40 young people; this time period enables The Filter staff to deliver
intensive smoking education which the young people will get the most out of.
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17. Acknowledgements
ASH Wales is grateful to Oliver Stadlberger, Brendan Mckieran and Prabhjot Chana for their
contribution in helping deliver the workshops.
ASH Wales would like to acknowledge the role of all the young people who participated in
workshops and those who filled out the evaluation form.
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18. @thefilterwales
/thefilterwales