A new summer campaign to build aspirations and encourage girls to not smoke and vape launches today targeting girls aged 11-13.

The campaign called 'Girls with Dreams UK' is being piloted in Wrexham in Wales. Research undertaken by Social Change UK between January and May this year found that girls in Wrexham with low aspirations who didn’t take part in sport or after school activities were more likely to smoke or use e-cigarettes. The research was commissioned by Public Health Wales.

The campaign features eight girls from Grango High in Wrexham. The girls are showcased in their dream jobs, and feature quotes from the girls on how smoking and vaping will prevent them from achieving their goals.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest will be heavily utilised to reach girls in Wrexham. Once the girls like the pages, they will receive advice on how to achieve their career goals and how to build self-esteem, and rise above bullying. There will be messaging and information about smoking and vaping, as well as photos, videos and stories. Wrexham girls engaged with the sites will be eligible to win prizes such as beauty products, shopping vouchers and their dream job for the day.

Running alongside this campaign, a partner campaign will be launched at the end of August to encourage parents of Wrexham in quit smoking. Research also found that smoking prevalence among young girls appears highest in deprived communities, and if parents smoke, children are more likely to take up the habit.

Andrew Jones, Executive Director of Public Health for Betsi Cadwaladr University Health board said:

“This campaign is part of a range of interventions now being tested in the Wrexham area. They include a review of programmes to increase participation in outdoor activities, measures to control the sale of e-cigarettes to under eighteens, promoting cessation services to parents and creating more smoke free spaces and buildings.

It’s vitally important that we understand what action needs to be taken to prevent young people from taking up smoking and the findings will be shared with local authorities across Wales.”

Social Change UK is running the campaign for Public Health Wales. For more information on this campaign please contact us.