RESEARCH ALERT
Some vapes use added chemicals to create a cold or icy feeling. New research has raised concerns about three of them: WS-23, WS-3 and WS-5. We do not yet know how common they are in Wales.
FOR SCHOOLS & YOUTH WORKERS
Smoking, vaping & nicotine resources for schools and youth workers in Wales
Free, practical materials for education and youth settings. Use them to teach about smoking, vaping and nicotine, explore pressure and influence, respond to concerns and signpost young people to support. For the latest national picture, see smoking, vaping & young people in Wales.
Updated: 5th October 2026
Choose resources by age and setting
Start with the age group you work with. All ASH Wales materials are free to use.
Early years & primary
Simple activities that build awareness without making nicotine products feel more normal or interesting than they need to.
Secondary
Ready-to-use learning around smoking, vaping, nicotine, influence, health and newer products.
Health Risks of Smoking & Vaping – KS3
Youth & community settings
Shorter materials for informal education, one-to-one conversations, youth groups and community sessions.
A young person is already smoking or vaping - what now?
Education and prevention are only part of the picture. If a young person is already using nicotine, start with safety, what they are using, how often and whether they want help. A calm response makes it easier to work out the right next step.
1. Start with what is happening
Ask what they are using, how often, where it comes from and what they feel it does for them. Experimentation, regular use and nicotine dependence may need different responses.
2. Avoid turning it into a detective job
Focus on safety, support and the reasons behind use. If you are concerned about a seller or illegal product, you do not need to investigate it yourself.
3. Signpost support
Help Me Quit can support young people aged 12+ who want to stop smoking. Young people who vape can also contact Help Me Quit for specialist advice and available support.
Concerned about underage sales or illegal products?
You do not need proof, and you should not investigate or confront a seller. A shop name, location, online account, product, price or pattern can help build the local picture.
Prevention without another lecture
Nicofiends is ASH Wales’s prevention programme for opening up honest conversations about the things that can sit behind smoking, vaping and nicotine use. The made-up creatures give things like fitting in, stress, marketing, cravings and product appeal a face, so young people can spot them, talk about them and think through their choices without anyone being labelled. The Nicofiend is always the pressure, never the young person.
The programme is informed by wider prevention evidence. At this stage, ASH Wales does not treat reach, downloads, competition entries or positive feedback as evidence that Nicofiends itself has reduced smoking or vaping.
For professional background, see marketing & digital influence and teen vaping: facts for parents & professionals.
Wales-wide guidance for schools
ASH Wales resources sit alongside national guidance and curriculum material produced by Public Health Wales. These external resources are maintained by Public Health Wales.
Curriculum programme: tobacco, nicotine & vaping
Teacher guidance, knowledge banks and classroom activities for use with learners in Wales.
Guidance on vaping for secondary-aged learners
National guidance on responding to vaping, supporting learners, policy and curriculum learning.
What does the latest Wales data show?
Most young people in Wales do not smoke or vape. The 2025 School Health Research Network survey included more than 130,000 learners in Years 7 to 11 across Wales and found that regular smoking and vaping had both fallen since 2023.
1.8%
smoked at least weekly
Years 7 to 11 in 2025, down from 2.7% in 2023.
5.2%
vaped at least weekly
Years 7 to 11 in 2025, down from 7% in 2023.
12.8%
of Year 11 learners vaped weekly
Down from 15.9% in 2023.
The overall trend is positive, but use rises with age and prevention still matters. Schools and youth settings are well placed to build knowledge, strengthen confidence and help young people recognise the pressures that can shape nicotine use.
NICE recommends school prevention that is interactive, age-appropriate and non-judgemental, develops decision-making skills and addresses peer and media influence rather than relying on information alone.
Evidence behind the approach
NICE guidance recommends prevention that combines accurate information with active learning, decision-making, discussion of social and media influences and opportunities for young people to take part in shaping prevention activity.
A Cochrane review of school-based smoking-prevention programmes found stronger long-term evidence for approaches combining social competence and social influence than for information-only approaches. Most of that long-term intervention evidence relates to smoking, so we do not assume identical effects for vaping or newer nicotine products.
Need something for your school or youth setting?
If you cannot find what you need in the library, get in touch with ASH Wales. We can point you towards the most relevant material and use feedback from schools and youth workers to improve future resources.