Northwest: Anti smoking teens on a mission to turn their friends into quitters

A gang of clued up Bolton lads are organising a huge town centre conference for young people in a bid to encourage them to dump the fags.
The young men from the Sunning Hill Youth centre were given the lowdown on the practices used by the tobacco industry to encourage people to smoke at a weekend residential and now they're determined to spread the stop smoking message among their peers.
The residential was part of Smoke and Mirrors, an anti tobacco industry campaign by Smokefree Northwest, which counts Ricky Hatton, Chris Eubank, Alistair Campbell and Hollyoaks creator Phil Redmond among its supporters.
The group, aged 13-19, attended the residential after taking part in a number of activities at Sunning Hill which were funded through the Government's Positive Activities for Young People (PAYP) grant.
More than 50 young people from youth centres across Bolton are expected to attend the conference at the friends meeting house on Wednesday (February 24), where the Sunning Hill group will lift the lid on the tobacco industry and encourage them to quit now.
Bolton Council youth worker Louise Gornall said: "There is no better way to educate other young people than through their friends, because they are more likely to listen to other people of their own age than to adults.
"The young lads we selected had really grown in confidence after taking part in the PAYP funded activities, so we knew they would be really open to making the most of the residential and staging a conference like this. It was a natural progression for them and probably not something they would have done if they had not benefited from the PAYP funded activities within the youth centre."
During the trip, at Trafford Hall in Chester, the young people heard from Californian professor Stanton A Glantz, who is campaigning for films which feature smoking to be given an 18 certificate, and were told about how cigarettes are marketed and used in films and TV, before taking part in team exercises.
They also heard about recent legislation in Scotland which has taken cigarettes away from public view and under the counter before watching films other young people have made about the tobacco industry. [ed. note: while the law has indeed been passed, it has not yet been implemented.]
Louise added: "Research has shown that warning young people about the health risks associated with smoking doesn't always hit home, so going in at this angle is likely to be a lot more successful."
Dr Janet Atherton, Chair of Smokefree North West, said: "The tobacco industry needs to recruit new customers to replace those that have quit or died. Smoking is a childhood addiction - 80% of smokers start before they are 19. Smoke & Mirrors is an exciting opportunity for more young people to get involved in creating a tobacco free future for themselves and to protect others from the harm caused by tobacco. Just by challenging the negative practices of the tobacco industry, the young peoples' films help de-legitimise the industry and the glamorization of smoking amongst young people."
The PAYP grant is part of Aiming High for Young people, a ten-year strategy from the Department for Children, Schools and Families to ensure that young people across the country have safe places to go and interesting things to do.
For details of local activities for young people in Bolton, please visit www.youngboltonlife.org.uk
Source: COI - 22 February 2010