A qualitative evaluation of a novel intervention using insight into tobacco industry tactics to prevent the uptake of smoking in school-aged children

Background: Evidence from the US Truth campaign suggests that interventions focusing on tobacco industry tactics can be effective in preventing smoking uptake by children. Operation Smoke Storm is the first school-based intervention based on this premise and comprises three classroom sessions in whi...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Taylor, John, Taylor, Amy, Lewis, Sarah, McNeill, Ann, Britton, John, Jones, Laura L., Bauld, Linda, Parrott, Steve, Wu, Qi, Szatkowski, Lisa, Bains, Manpreet
Format: Article
Published: BioMed Central 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34775/
_version_ 1848794932686356480
author Taylor, John
Taylor, Amy
Lewis, Sarah
McNeill, Ann
Britton, John
Jones, Laura L.
Bauld, Linda
Parrott, Steve
Wu, Qi
Szatkowski, Lisa
Bains, Manpreet
author_facet Taylor, John
Taylor, Amy
Lewis, Sarah
McNeill, Ann
Britton, John
Jones, Laura L.
Bauld, Linda
Parrott, Steve
Wu, Qi
Szatkowski, Lisa
Bains, Manpreet
author_sort Taylor, John
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Background: Evidence from the US Truth campaign suggests that interventions focusing on tobacco industry tactics can be effective in preventing smoking uptake by children. Operation Smoke Storm is the first school-based intervention based on this premise and comprises three classroom sessions in which students act as secret agents uncovering tobacco industry tactics through videos, quizzes, discussions, and presentations. We report a qualitative evaluation of its acceptability. Methods: We conducted eight focus groups with 79 students aged 11-12 who participated in Operation Smoke Storm at two UK schools in Autumn 2013, and 20 interviews with teachers who delivered the intervention. These were digitally audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using the framework method. Results: Students enjoyed the secret agent scenario and reported acquiring new knowledge about smoking and the tobacco industry, which seemed to strengthen their aversion to smoking. Teachers felt confident delivering the ‘off the shelf’ resource, although they would have welcomed more background information about the topic and guidance on steering discussions. Teachers highlighted a need for the resource to be flexible and not dependent on lesson length, teacher confidence, or expertise. Students and teachers endorsed the idea of developing a booster component for older students and supported the development of printed information complementing the resource to encourage parents to support their child not to smoke. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that Operation Smoke Storm can be delivered by teachers to raise awareness about smoking-related issues. The ideas and issues raised are now being used to improve and extend the resource for further evaluation.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T19:24:03Z
format Article
id nottingham-34775
institution University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T19:24:03Z
publishDate 2016
publisher BioMed Central
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling nottingham-347752020-05-04T18:02:24Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34775/ A qualitative evaluation of a novel intervention using insight into tobacco industry tactics to prevent the uptake of smoking in school-aged children Taylor, John Taylor, Amy Lewis, Sarah McNeill, Ann Britton, John Jones, Laura L. Bauld, Linda Parrott, Steve Wu, Qi Szatkowski, Lisa Bains, Manpreet Background: Evidence from the US Truth campaign suggests that interventions focusing on tobacco industry tactics can be effective in preventing smoking uptake by children. Operation Smoke Storm is the first school-based intervention based on this premise and comprises three classroom sessions in which students act as secret agents uncovering tobacco industry tactics through videos, quizzes, discussions, and presentations. We report a qualitative evaluation of its acceptability. Methods: We conducted eight focus groups with 79 students aged 11-12 who participated in Operation Smoke Storm at two UK schools in Autumn 2013, and 20 interviews with teachers who delivered the intervention. These were digitally audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using the framework method. Results: Students enjoyed the secret agent scenario and reported acquiring new knowledge about smoking and the tobacco industry, which seemed to strengthen their aversion to smoking. Teachers felt confident delivering the ‘off the shelf’ resource, although they would have welcomed more background information about the topic and guidance on steering discussions. Teachers highlighted a need for the resource to be flexible and not dependent on lesson length, teacher confidence, or expertise. Students and teachers endorsed the idea of developing a booster component for older students and supported the development of printed information complementing the resource to encourage parents to support their child not to smoke. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that Operation Smoke Storm can be delivered by teachers to raise awareness about smoking-related issues. The ideas and issues raised are now being used to improve and extend the resource for further evaluation. BioMed Central 2016-07-11 Article PeerReviewed Taylor, John, Taylor, Amy, Lewis, Sarah, McNeill, Ann, Britton, John, Jones, Laura L., Bauld, Linda, Parrott, Steve, Wu, Qi, Szatkowski, Lisa and Bains, Manpreet (2016) A qualitative evaluation of a novel intervention using insight into tobacco industry tactics to prevent the uptake of smoking in school-aged children. BMC Public Health, 16 (539). ISSN 1471-2458 Smoking prevention Health education Adolescents Tobacco industry http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-016-3205-8 doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3205-8 doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3205-8
spellingShingle Smoking prevention
Health education
Adolescents
Tobacco industry
Taylor, John
Taylor, Amy
Lewis, Sarah
McNeill, Ann
Britton, John
Jones, Laura L.
Bauld, Linda
Parrott, Steve
Wu, Qi
Szatkowski, Lisa
Bains, Manpreet
A qualitative evaluation of a novel intervention using insight into tobacco industry tactics to prevent the uptake of smoking in school-aged children
title A qualitative evaluation of a novel intervention using insight into tobacco industry tactics to prevent the uptake of smoking in school-aged children
title_full A qualitative evaluation of a novel intervention using insight into tobacco industry tactics to prevent the uptake of smoking in school-aged children
title_fullStr A qualitative evaluation of a novel intervention using insight into tobacco industry tactics to prevent the uptake of smoking in school-aged children
title_full_unstemmed A qualitative evaluation of a novel intervention using insight into tobacco industry tactics to prevent the uptake of smoking in school-aged children
title_short A qualitative evaluation of a novel intervention using insight into tobacco industry tactics to prevent the uptake of smoking in school-aged children
title_sort qualitative evaluation of a novel intervention using insight into tobacco industry tactics to prevent the uptake of smoking in school-aged children
topic Smoking prevention
Health education
Adolescents
Tobacco industry
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34775/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34775/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34775/