Smokefree Class Competition (SFC) was a European Union co-funded activity from 1997 to 2009 with up to 22 European partners. Implemented by the Institute for Therapy and Health Research (IFT-Nord) in Germany, the smoking prevention program for youth adopted a school-based strategy.
Implementation Strategy
First piloted in Finland in 1989, the SFC aimed at 11–14 years’ old pupils and was structured as a contest in which classes denied tobacco for half a year. Students and classes found smokers, checking their own smoking status, and non-smoking classes entered lottery prizes at national and European levels. The program is designed particularly flexible so that the necessary adjustments can be made in every single participating country on the one hand while the general working framework remains comparable on the other.
Contact Information
For more information, please visit IFT-Nord at [email protected].
Program Evaluation
Self-report measures used in post-treatment assessments in country specific evaluation studies revealed high acceptance of the program, overall cost-savings, and effectiveness in decreasing the prevalence of the adolescent smoking in Europe