Objectives

Main objectives of the Smokefree Class Competition are

• to contribute to the reduction of smoking related disease morbidity and mortality by:
• de-normalising smoking in youth
• delaying or preventing the onset of smoking in youth
• preventing the transition from experimental to regular smoking
• engaging young people to reflect tobacco industry strategies and the economic, health and environmental consequences of smoking
• to contribute to the reduction of Environmental Tobacco Smoke by involving parents
• to contribute to the reduction of social inequality in pupils' health by placing special emphasis on pupils from lower socio-economic backgrounds
• to link the programme to other European health promotion programmes, such as the HELP-campaign or initiatives, such as the European Network on Smoking Prevention (ENSP).
• to disseminate information on and results from the project nationally and internationally
• to encourage health and education professionals to co-operate and share best practice in smoking prevention, thus establishing and strengthening networks among the participating European organisations within the Community

Dedication to key Community strategies

The Smokefree Class Competition links to key Community strategies on tobacco prevention. The programme responds to the need for the establishment of a prevention programme that helps to de-normalise smoking by focussing on the desired behaviour of non-smoking and which is applicable for implementation in different European countries. It contains the key components considered to be successful in behaviour-orientated school-based smoking prevention programmes: It is interactive, based on the social-influence approach and fosters the de-normalisation of smoking in young people.