What does Nicotine-Free School Hours involve?

  • Schools formulate a policy stating that smoking or vaping is not permitted during school hours. Students and staff do not use nicotine during the entire school day, including immediately before or after school.
  • In cooperation with students, schools implement supportive interventions: a gift for students to use during breaks, parent evenings about vaping, and support for students and staff who want to quit nicotine.

How does this differ from the current legislation on smoke-free school grounds?

  • The focus shifts from place to time: not only on school grounds but also outside them, throughout the entire school day.
  • It is a broader approach—not just a ban, but also support with quitting, additional attention to what young people do want to do during breaks, and involving parents.
  • It is about changing the norm: School and nicotine do not belong together!

What did we find?

Schools felt an urgency to reduce nicotine use, particularly vaping. Nicotine-Free School Hours provided a good foundation that could be adapted to the school context. It helped establish an active and sufficiently large working group and make use of support from the GGD Healthy School Advisor.

There were several challenges:

  • The policy was introduced too much toward the end of the school year, meaning that the transition did not feel natural.
  • There was a lack of clarity among staff and students about the meaning and purpose of the policy. Enforcement had not yet been sufficiently developed, so the approach and responsibilities were unclear, and staff felt unsure about how to act.
  • Not everyone was aware of the available support for quitting nicotine.
  • Underlying this, we found several beliefs among students and staff that worked against Nicotine-Free School Hours: Is the school responsible for nicotine use? Is smoking a personal choice? How serious is nicotine use?

What lessons do we have for schools and GGD organisations that want to get started with this?

  • Ensure clear communication and allow sufficient lead time.
  • Invest in support among staff and students.
  • Establish a clear division of tasks among staff.
  • Create a sense of collective responsibility: we are doing this together.
  • Use practical support from the GGD.
  • Have realistic expectations: it will not be perfect straight away.

Read the factsheet here.

Read the full report here.

Source: Mirte Kuipers on LinkedIn.