Table 1 Operation Smoke Storm

Operation Smoke Storm is a web-based novel educational package designed to be delivered by teachers as part of a school’s Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE) curriculum. Teachers are provided with detailed lesson plans for 3 x 50 minute classroom sessions (although the material can also be delivered as one longer session). Students act as secret agents to uncover the tactics of the tobacco industry and share what they find with others. The sessions also cover the health effects of tobacco, passive smoking, nicotine addiction and the economic cost of smoking.

Sessions one and two include video clips followed by individual and group-based quizzes, and discussion activities where students learn about the harmful and addictive nature of smoking and methods used by tobacco companies to encourage young people to smoke. Students are provided with a workbook to record their answers. In session three, they then use this information to ‘spread the word’ in a group presentation to their class, in a medium of their choice such as through drama or song.