PRODUCT WATCH ROUNDUP We’ve added new information to ASH Wales Product Watch about nicotine products that may be less familiar. Pouchless nicotine pods have a UK-facing retail listing: these small oral portions have no outer pouch and are not designed to melt. We’ve also added international examples of ultra-thin and semi-gel nicotine pouches, and updated our page on gels, creams, sprays and nasal inhalers. UK or Welsh availability has not been established for those international examples. These updates explain what the products are, what is verified and what remains uncertain. They do not establish how widely any product is used in Wales.
Nicofiends activity
Cup Choice
A quick guessing game about peer pressure, confidence and group influence.
What it explores
This activity helps young people think about how group opinions, confidence and pressure can affect choices. It opens up a conversation about how easy it can be to follow what others say, even when you are not sure.
Time
10 to 15 mins
Age
Ages 8 to 10
Setting
Classroom, Youth group, Community setting
Group size
Small groups or whole group
Activity at a glance
Best for
Peer pressure, confidence and group influence.
You’ll need
10 cups, a small token, sticker or prize, paper slips and pens.
Key message
Pressure is not always obvious. Sometimes it is confidence, noise, repetition or a group making one choice feel like the obvious one. This can happen around smoking, vaping or nicotine products too. If people make something sound normal, popular or low risk, it can feel easier to go along with.
How to run it
- Place 10 cups upside down in a row and number them 1 to 10. Hide a small token, sticker or prize under one cup.
- Ask everyone to write their name and first cup choice on a slip of paper. Fold the slips and collect them.
- Let participants discuss their guesses in pairs without changing what they wrote.
- Choose one slip and invite that participant to come forward.
- Read their original guess aloud.
- Let the group offer advice for a few seconds.
- Ask: “Are you sticking with your first choice or switching?”
- The participant chooses a cup and checks underneath.
- Ask whether the group influenced their decision.
- If the prize is not there, remove the empty cup and repeat with another participant.
Discussion prompts
- Who changed their mind?
- What made you change?
- Did the group make the choice feel easier or harder?
- Was the loudest advice right?
Reflection
This activity helps young people notice that pressure can come from confidence, noise, agreement or wanting to fit in. It encourages them to pause, question what is influencing them and make their own choice.
Link To Smoking, Vaping or Nicotine
Cup Choice links to the way young people can feel pulled by the people around them.
Smoking, vaping or nicotine use can sometimes begin in small social moments: someone offers it, the group reacts, a friend sounds confident, or it feels like everyone else already knows what to do.
The activity helps young people notice how pressure can build, how confidence can influence a choice, and how useful it can be to pause before following the group.
Adapting the activity
Make it Easier
Use fewer cups. Let young people work in pairs. Give a practice round before the discussion starts.
Make it Harder
Add pressure cards. Give a few people secret prompts, such as “speak confidently”, “get others to agree” or “say everyone thinks it’s this one”. After the guess, ask what made it harder to choose.
Safety Note
Keep the discussion general and scenario based. Do not ask young people to share personal or family experiences of smoking, vaping or nicotine use. Follow your setting’s safeguarding process if a young person raises a concern.
Ready to Run The Acitvity
Download the activity PDF or go back to the resource hub to find another activity.
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Used this activity?
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