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Nicofiends activity

Pressure Web

A visual group activity exploring how pressure around smoking, vaping and nicotine can come from friends, products, places, feelings and online messages.

What it explores

Social pressure, product appeal, online influence, fitting in and sources of support.
Time
20 to 30 mins
Age
Ages 14 to 18
Setting
Classroom, Youth group, Community setting
Group size
Small groups or one whole group

Activity at a glance

Best for

Helping older young people see how different sources of pressure connect and identify practical ways to break those connections.

You’ll need

Sticky notes, pens and either string or large sheets of paper with lines drawn between ideas.

Key message

Pressure rarely comes from one place. Recognising how different influences connect can help you find ways to weaken them and make your own choice.

How to run it

  • Write “Young person feeling pressure around smoking, vaping or nicotine” in the centre of the activity space.
  • Ask the group to add sticky notes showing where that pressure might come from. Examples could include:
    • Friends
    • Flavours
    • Social media
    • Wanting to fit in
    • Stress
    • Packaging
    • Seeing other people use products
  • Place the sticky notes around the centre and use string or wool to connect pressures that link together.
  • Ask the group to add web breakers: people, facts, choices or actions that could weaken the pressure. These might include:
    • A trusted friend
    • A reason to say no
    • Saving money
    • Knowing the facts
    • Caring about the planet
    • Leaving the situation
    • Speaking to a trusted adult
  • Finish by removing three pieces of string. Each time, ask the group to name the web breaker that helped weaken that connection.

Discussion prompts

  • Which pressure connected to the most things?
  • Which pressures were linked together?
  • What helped break the web?
  • Which web breaker might be easiest to use?
  • Who could help someone feeling trapped by several pressures?
  • Can removing one pressure weaken other parts of the web?

Reflection

Ask each young person to choose one web breaker they think could make the greatest difference. They can share it or keep their choice private.

Download printable materials

Link To Smoking, Vaping or Nicotine

Pressure around smoking, vaping and nicotine can build through friendships, appealing flavours, product design, online content, stress and wanting to fit in. Mapping these influences helps young people recognise that pressure is created by several connected factors, rather than being a personal failure.

Adapting the activity

Make it Easier

Build one web together. Provide suggested pressure categories and support options. Participants may contribute by speaking, writing, pointing or passing an idea to the facilitator.

Make it Harder

Ask groups to label each connection as social, emotional, commercial or environmental. Compare which support actions could weaken several connections at once.

Safety Note

Offer a tabletop paper version for anyone who cannot move around the space or handle string. Keep examples fictional and do not ask young people to identify who uses or supplies nicotine products.

Ready to Run The Acitvity

Download the activity PDF or go back to the resource hub to find another activity.

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