Young people in Fife will soon be encouraged to quit smoking, or be put off starting, thanks to a range of inspiring interactive ideas created by college students.
Fife College and the Fife Health and Social Care Partnership teamed up on a project to explore new ways of reaching 16 to 24-year-olds with their tobacco awareness message.
As part of their course, BA visual communication and digital publishing students were challenged to run their own agencies, taking live briefs from clients.
Student agency MERGE created Myke — an interactive infographic to promote health benefits of not smoking.
Agency ERNEL used a Star Wars style video game that involved shooting cigarettes at a mouth and watching as the strength of the heart and lungs decreased with each hit.
An environmental approach was developed by student agency HACK, who designed a Breath Green campaign. It included smoking shelter graphics with environmental messages about the impact of tobacco on climate change.
The partnership was initially looking for one idea to take forward but was so impressed by the students that all three will be implemented across Fife in the near future.
Kay Samson, deputy health promotion manager, said: “This project has been extremely exciting and it has been fantastic to see how the students’ ideas have developed.
“All of the ideas created can be used time and time again in different places and scenarios – we can’t wait to make them available in Fife.
“Alongside creating some great ideas to encourage young people in Fife to consider the impact tobacco has on their lives, the project has also built on the fantastic links we have with Fife College.”
Wayne Craddock, 25, of Glenrothes, is part of the MERGE student agency.
He said: “We decided to do something different to show the impact of smoking to make it more fun and interactive for young people with useful facts which are colourful and attractive.
“The students involved are the same age as the target group we are trying to reach so I think it was a great idea to get us involved.
“I’ve also really enjoyed working in an agency setting on a live project which gives us the experience we need to help secure jobs when we graduate.”
Alastair Leadbetter, health and safety manager at Fife College, said: “This has been a fantastic project to raise awareness of the health issues around smoking, to mark No Smoking Day and to give our students valuable experience.
“The event was a great success and proved popular with students and staff on campus – we look forward to supporting further health promotion initiatives in the future.”
