ASSIST: A stop smoking in schools trial
Funding
The Medical Research Council
Summary
The DECIPHer-ASSIST trial recruited peer-nominated students aged 12-13 as ‘peer supporters’. They were taught how to intervene with their Year 8 peers in everyday situations to discourage them from smoking. The trial followed the students for two years to see whether smoking prevalence in the intervention schools was lower than in the schools which did not receive the training. It demonstrated that the programme reduced the prevalence of smoking by 10% – and that it is cost-effective.