Summary
The SILNE-R project aims to learn, by in-depth comparisons between seven European countries, how strategies and programmes to prevent youth smoking could enhance their effectiveness by taking into account the opportunities, barriers and resources present at local levels.
Top researchers from different disciplines and different European regions will be working in partnership and link up with international research networks concerned with tobacco control or young people’s health. Together, they aim at generating the fine-grained much needed evidence to support decision makers in the implementation of smoking prevention strategies that are responsive to local conditions, effective in using available resources and inspired to reduce inequities.
Participating organisations and contact person
- University of Amsterdam (Netherlands) – Prof. Anton Kunst (coordinator)
- European Network of Smoking and Tobacco Prevention (Belgium) – Mr. Dominick Nguyen
- University of Maastricht (Netherlands) – Prof. Marc Willemsen
- Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (Germany )- Prof. Matthias Richter
- Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium) – Prof. Vincent Lorant
- University of Edinburgh (United Kingdom) – Prof. Amanda Amos
- University of Tampere (Finland) – Prof. Arja Rimpelä
- National School of Public Health (Portugal) – Prof. Julian Perelman
- University of Cassino (Italy) – Dr. Bruno Federico
- Tobacco Free Research Institute Ireland (Ireland) - Prof. Luke Clancy
The SILNE-R project has two main aims:
- To assess how recent strategies and programmes to prevent smoking amongst young people have been implemented at national, municipal and school levels; and how they have influenced smoking behaviour of 16-year-old adolescents in seven European countries;
- To develop and disseminate the fine-grained evidence, to support decision makers in order for them to implement strategies to prevent young people from smoking in local settings, with particular attention to programme costs and effectiveness in reducing inequalities in smoking.
The key objectives of the project are:
- To assess how smoking prevention strategies were implemented within seven countries, at national, municipal and schools levels, and how the process of implementation differed between countries, cities and schools;
- To assess how the implementation of these strategies influenced smoking-related behaviour of 16-year-old students in 60 schools, and how this impact varied according to certain factors such as gender, socioeconomic position and social network;
- To estimate the programme costs associated with the implementation of prevention strategies at national, municipal and school levels, and to estimate the cost-effectiveness of the different prevention strategies;
- To integrate the outcomes of these evaluations into refined “models of change”, which will inform decision makers on strategies effectiveness in tackling smoking, taking into account existing opportunities and barriers at local levels;
- To develop and disseminate recommendations to support decision makers at (inter)national, municipal and schools levels in the implementation of context-sensitive, cost-effective and equity-oriented smoking prevention strategies towards young people.
The project focuses on smoking prevention policies and programmes for which implementation strategies have been developed – not only at national level, but also at local levels such as municipalities and schools. These include:
- Bans on smoking;
- Bans on underage sales (including monitoring and sanctioning);
- Restrictions to point-of-sale advertising (especially around schools);
- Bans on smoking at school premises (by students, staff, and visitors);
- School curriculum and educational programmes (including smoke-free class contests).
The countries and cities included in the research are:
- Belgium (Namur)
- Finland (Tampere)
- Germany (Hannover)
- Ireland (Dublin)
- Italy (Latina)
- Portugal (Coimbra)
- The Netherlands (Amersfoort)
Further information
The three-year European project will run from October 2015 to October 2018.
For further information, can be found on the project website: http://silne-r.ensp.org/
For specific questions, please contact:
- Prof. Anton Kunst (Project Coordinator) – a.kunst@amc.uva.nl
