The latest ScholierenMonitor reveals a worrying development. While there was still a sharp decline between 2003 and 2017 in the percentage of students aged 12 to 16 who smoked, no further progress has been made in recent years. The percentage of students who have ever smoked has fluctuated between 16% and 17% for years. At the same time, we are seeing an increase in the number of students who vape: in 2023, 24.6% of students aged 12 to 16 had vaped at some point. As a result of this development, the number of students using nicotine has increased significantly. This is worrying because nicotine is highly harmful to the developing brain.
The allure of vapes: how young people are targeted by the tobacco industry
In recent years, the tobacco industry has deliberately focused on getting a new generation of nicotine users addicted. Cheap, colourful disposable vapes with sweet, appealing flavours were strategically used to entice young people. Although these flavours have now been banned, young people still have easy access to these products through the illegal market. It is not only the choice of product that specifically targets young people; the marketing strategy does too. Popular influencers have promoted vaping on a mass scale, meaning that images of young people vaping have now become impossible to ignore on social media. This has given vaping a positive image among young people, with all the associated health risks.
How can we make young people more resilient?
In response to this worrying trend, people are looking for ways to make young people more resilient to temptations. This can be done in various ways, with widely varying chances of success. Investing in raising resilient children is always a good idea. Research shows that positive social and emotional development makes children less likely to engage in risky and unhealthy behaviour.
However, it is often thought that you simply need to teach young people how to say ‘no’. That it is effective to tell young people not to be influenced by their peers. But it is not that simple. During adolescence, peers become increasingly important, and young people want nothing more than to fit in. Calling on them to distance themselves from the group goes against their natural development. Research even shows that this can have the opposite effect. By emphasising that you should not smoke or vape in order to fit in, you unintentionally send the message that smoking or vaping is actually the way to be accepted.
Focus on the healthy social norm
It is much more effective to emphasise that smoking and vaping are not normal. Although social media often creates the impression that everyone vapes, this is not actually the case. In 2023, 24.6% of students aged 12 to 16 had vaped at some point, which means that 76.4% had never done so. When addressing children and young people, it is important to convey that healthy behaviour is the norm. Smoking and vaping are not normal. We cannot emphasise this often enough. Research shows that educational programmes focused on a healthy social norm can help young people start unhealthy behaviour such as smoking and vaping later in life. This is an important finding, because we know that the risk of addiction is greater among young people who start at an early age.
Smokefree Challenge educational programme
The Smokefree Challenge is an educational programme based on a healthy social norm. In this class-based competition, students in the first and second years agree not to smoke, vape or use snus for six months. The Smokefree Challenge is a recognised intervention whose positive effects have been demonstrated in research. Would you also like to work on a healthy social norm at your school? Then sign up before 1 November.