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What does peer pressure look like? Sometimes it is obvious. Sometimes it looks more like a joke, a …
Meet the Nicofiends, a bunch of made-up creatures that bring some of the pressures around smoking, vaping and nicotine to life. From fitting in and curiosity to stress, hype and cravings, each one gives young people something they can spot, talk about and challenge.
Flashy Nicofiend
Flashy uses bold colours, shiny packaging and sweet flavours to make nicotine products look exciting... without showing the risks.
Choose the route that best fits what you need. Nicofiends has ready-to-run resources for schools, youth groups, families, sports clubs and community settings.
Try a quick activity, play the Nicofiends card game or create your own Nicofiend.
You can get help without being judged. Find out what support is available and what to expect if you want to stop.
Find ready-to-run activities, teaching packs and facilitator guidance for schools, youth clubs and community settings.
Find resourcesYoung people across Wales are invited to invent an original Nicofiend: a character showing a pressure, feeling, message or trick linked to smoking, vaping or nicotine. Draw it, paint it or create it digitally.
Twelve winning ideas will be professionally reimagined as official Nicofiends playing cards and animated campaign characters for 2027.
Winners will receive a Nicofiends card game, prize bundle, certificate and voucher.
Closing date extended to Friday 15 January 2027
Printed competition sheets showing 4 December 2026 can still be used. Please submit entries by the new closing date.
Nicofiends takes things like peer pressure, hype, stress and cravings and turns them into creatures young people can spot and talk about. It makes something a bit complicated feel easier to name. The Nicofiend is always the pressure, never the person. The activities are designed to give adults a creative, age-appropriate way to open honest conversations.
The programme is informed by wider prevention evidence about active learning, decision-making and social influence. Participation or positive feedback should not be read as proof that Nicofiends itself has reduced smoking or vaping unless and until outcome evaluation demonstrates that.
[ nik-oh-feend ] | noun
a character that shows the pressures, tricks or feelings that can pull young people into smoking, vaping or nicotine use.
Battle Nicofiends using NicoFriends in a fast, discussion-friendly card game about pressure, feelings, marketing and nicotine tricks.
All of the activities below can be used in youth groups, community settings or informal sessions with young people.
Showing 6 of 22 activities
Battle Nicofiends using NicoFriends in a card game about pressure, feelings, marketing and nicotine tricks.
View activityCompare different types of risk linked to smoking, vaping, nicotine and other products.
View activityMap connected pressures around smoking, vaping and nicotine and find ways to weaken them.
View activityCreate a campaign poster helping younger pupils recognise pressure and make their own choices.
View activityPractise realistic responses, reasons and ways out when someone feels under pressure.
View activityCreate a simple plan for what to notice, say, do and who to ask for help.
View activityPractise simple words children can use to say no, make a different choice or ask for help.
View activityCreate a character that shows a feeling and think about who can help when feelings get big.
View activityA movement game exploring the difference between copying someone and making your own choice.
View activityA passing game where teams decide whether a quicker advantage is worth the extra risk.
View activityAn active team game about noticing when someone needs support and helping them rejoin the group.
View activityA sports activity exploring how other people’s opinions can affect confidence and choices.
View activityA quick sports game about pausing before automatically following what other people do.
View activityBuild a simple plan to notice pressure, respond, leave the moment and find support.
View activityA quick guessing game exploring how group advice can influence someone’s first choice.
View activityLook closely at advertising and spot the information, consequences or context that has been left out.
View activityCreate a character showing a pressure, feeling or message linked to smoking, vaping or nicotine.
View activityTurn an ordinary object into a must-have product and spot the tricks used to make it sound appealing.
View activityA team-building challenge about tempting offers, hidden catches and quick decisions.
View activityA guessing game exploring hidden rules, fitting in and what starts to feel accepted by a group.
View activityA bidding game about hype, missing information and making choices before knowing the full story.
View activitySpot the pressure trick in each message and decide what someone could say, think or do.
View activityOpen the folder to choose the English or Welsh version, with all the Nicofiends youth group activities and printables together.
Have you used a Nicofiends lesson, activity or competition resource? Tell us what worked and what we could improve. Your feedback helps us improve future resources and understand how Nicofiends is being used across Wales.
Ready-to-run lessons and creative activities for adults working with young people. For the full professional route, visit Schools & Youth Workers.
A simple creative activity helping younger children explore feelings, choices and who they can talk to when they need help.
A ready-to-run KS2 lesson helping pupils explore pressure, feelings and choices before creating their own Nicofiend.
Year 7 to 9 pupils explore influence, marketing, nicotine products and social pressure.
Created with WRU Community Rugby, these active team games help young people explore peer pressure, confidence and choice through play. They can be used by rugby clubs and adapted for other sports settings.
Download the sports club pack
Quick answers for schools, youth workers, families and anyone using Nicofiends with young people. Questions about Nicofiends, resources or competition entries? Email communications@ashwales.org.uk
A Nicofiend is a made-up creature that gives a pressure, feeling, message or craving a face. It gives young people a simple way to spot what is going on and talk about it without putting a label on themselves or anyone else.
Think curiosity, wanting to fit in, stress, bright packaging, something seen online or someone saying “Go on, just try it.” The Nicofiend is the pressure, never the person.
Nicofiends has free resources for children and young people aged 4 to 18.
They can be used in schools, youth groups, sports clubs, community settings and other places where adults work with young people.
Start with whatever fits your group and the time you have.
Choose one quick activity, try the card game, download a resource pack or get young people involved in the national competition.
There is no set order and you do not need to work through everything.
Nope.
You know your young people. The resources give you a way into the conversation, with facilitator notes, discussion prompts, key messages and printable materials where you need them.
No. The age ranges are there to help you choose an activity, rather than box you in.
Lots of the activities can be made simpler or more challenging depending on the young people you are working with.
No. Nicofiends looks at smoking, vaping, nicotine products and the pressures that can sit behind them.
Products change, but things like curiosity, fitting in, hype, stress, temptation and that “just one more” feeling keep cropping up in different forms.
Mental health is not a separate Nicofiends topic, but feelings and coping are part of many of the conversations.
Younger children might explore worry, boredom, feeling left out, confidence and asking for help. With older young people, conversations can move into stress, coping, dependence and nicotine feeling like a “quick fix”.
Nicofiends is not a mental health service. If a young person needs more support, use the wellbeing and safeguarding routes you would normally use in your setting.
No. Nicofiends is mainly about prevention - helping young people spot pressure, understand what might pull them in and make their own informed choices.
Some young people using the resources may already smoke, vape or use nicotine. They should still be included without judgement.
If they want help to stop, there is free NHS support available in Wales.
Signpost them to Help Me Quit, the free NHS stop-smoking service for Wales.
If they smoke
Help Me Quit supports young people aged 12 and over who want to stop smoking.
Help Me Quit says parental consent is ideal, but it is not always required. The service can talk through the right approach for each young person.
If they vape
Young people who vape can be supported to access Help Me Quit too.
The support available for vaping is different from the stop-smoking programme and the offer for young people is developing. Help Me Quit can talk through what support is currently available and the best next step.
If they smoke and vape
Young people who both smoke and vape can access the full Help Me Quit smoking support pathway.
What about nicotine pouches or another nicotine product?
If you are unsure what support is right for a young person using another nicotine product, contact Help Me Quit and ask the team for advice.
You can text HMQ to 80818 too.
Nicofiends is not about catching anyone out or asking young people to disclose whether they smoke, vape or use nicotine.
Keep the conversation calm and non-judgemental. Listen to what they are telling you and what, if anything, they want help with.
If they want to stop, signpost them to Help Me Quit. If what they tell you raises a welfare or safeguarding concern, follow the normal procedures for your setting.
Yes. Parent Support is our support hub for parents and carers who are worried about a child or teenager smoking, vaping or using nicotine.
It covers starting conversations, understanding different products, helping a young person who wants to stop, withdrawal and what to do if you find a vape or another nicotine product.
Yes. Nicofiends was created around smoking, vaping and nicotine, but many of the conversations can go wider.
Pressure, hype, curiosity, fitting in, marketing and “just one more” can open conversations about other choices and behaviours too.
You do not need to investigate it yourself or collect proof.
Illegal tobacco, illegal vapes, cannabis or THC products, online sellers and underage sales can be reported through No Ifs. No Butts.
Reports can be anonymous. A shop name, postcode, online account, seller, product or pattern can still help build the local picture.
Children and young people across Wales can create their own original Nicofiend based on a pressure, feeling, message or trick they recognise.
They can draw, paint, collage, craft or create their idea digitally.
They do not need to use an official entry sheet. An idea created on ordinary paper can still be entered.
Generative AI entries cannot be accepted.
The competition closes Friday 15 January 2027. Twelve winning ideas will help shape the next Nicofiends campaign in 2027.
Yes. The activity bank, school resources, youth resources, competition materials and downloadable resources are free to use.
Yes please - we really want to hear it.
Tell us what got your young people talking, what they enjoyed, what fell flat, what surprised you and what you would change.
Feedback from young people and the adults working with them will help shape how Nicofiends develops.
