Understanding children’ and early adolescents’ views on emerging tobacco products and develop evidence-based, user-centred tools and guidelines to support prevention, education, and policymaking.
Context
The RELIEF project responds to the urgent need to address the rising use of e-cigarettes and other emerging tobacco products among children and early adolescents. Young people often lack awareness of the health risks associated with these products, while parents and educators do not always have the knowledge or tools to guide and protect them. As new nicotine products evolve rapidly, traditional prevention approaches are no longer sufficient. There is a clear need for updated, evidence-based educational resources, targeted interventions for vulnerable groups, and stronger public policies capable of regulating emerging products and safeguarding minors.
Objectives
- To identify and map initiatives in Europe that aim to control emerging tobacco products’ use.
- To measure the attitudes towards emerging tobacco products in different countries in Europe among students, parents and educators.
- To design and pilot an intuitive and interactive digital intervention toolkit that will enable students, parents and educators to build the skills for healthier lifestyles.
- To develop an awareness campaign fostering skills and knowledge around emerging tobacco products of educators, parents, healthcare professional groups and the public using a series of workshops and events.
- To translate research evidence into concrete policymaking guidelines to inform national and European-level efforts to control emerging tobacco products use.
Activities
- Production of guidelines and evidence-based recommendations to support Member States and stakeholders in reducing the exposure to second-hand smoke and aerosols and the risks from emerging tobacco products.
- Identification and piloting of best and promising practices through population-level interventions.
- Targeted interventions to promote health and prevent disease among vulnerable population groups, including children, young people and the elderly.
- Guidelines and evidence-based recommendations for prevention and control of Non-Communicable Diseases and related risk factors.
Resources
- Digital Toolkit Prototype
- Review Insights Report
- Country Insights Report
- Eye-Tracking Insights Report
- Computational Models’ Insights Report
- Campaign Content
- Guidelines and training materials
- Evaluation and Implementation Report
- Stakeholder Involvement Plan
- Policy Recommendations Report
Impact
- Reduced initiation rates of e-cigarette and emerging tobacco products among students.
- Increased capacity for educators and parents to implement prevention activities.
- Higher policy visibility, stronger enforcement, and better regulatory frameworks.
- Long-term, scalable strategies for continued reduction of youth vaping and smoking.
Partners
- CSI CENTER FOR SOCIAL INNOVATION LTD (Cyprus, Coordinator)
- CYPRUS NATIONAL ADDICTIONS AUTHORITY (Cyprus)
- CYPRUS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY (Cyprus)
- EUROPEAN NETWORK FOR SMOKING PREVENTION (Belgium)
- CESIE ENTE DEL TERZO SETTORE (Italy)
- NOVELCORE OE (Greece)
- UNIVERSIDAD DE CADIZ (Spain)
- HASKOLINN I REYKJAVIK EHF (Iceland)
