Project Information
Duration: 36 months (2025–2028)
Funding: EU4Health
Coordinator: Centre for Social Innovation Ltd (CUT Scientific Coordination)
Consortium: CSI, CUT, CESIE Ets, University of Cadiz, University of Reykjavik, Novelcore Ltd, Cyprus National Addictions Authority, European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention (ENSP)
About the Project
RELIEF is a multi-country public health project designed to tackle the rising use of e‑cigarettes and other emerging tobacco products among school‑age children. It focuses on children aged 6–12, their parents and teachers, recognising early childhood and pre-adolescence as critical windows for shaping long‑term, healthier lifestyles.
By combining behavioural science, health psychology and implementation research, RELIEF aims to generate robust evidence on how children, parents and educators understand emerging tobacco products and to transform this knowledge into practical tools, campaigns and policy guidance.
Objectives
RELIEF pursues five interlinked objectives that together support earlier, more effective prevention of tobacco‑related harm:
Map existing European initiatives that address emerging tobacco products, using behavioural frameworks (Theoretical Domains Framework and Behaviour Change Techniques taxonomy) to identify strengths, gaps and best practices.
Assess attitudes, perceptions and decision‑making around e‑cigarettes and other emerging products among students, parents and educators in multiple European countries, with specific attention to vulnerable groups.
Design and pilot an intuitive digital intervention toolkit that helps children, parents and teachers build skills to talk about and act on healthier lifestyles across five countries.
Develop and implement an awareness and training campaign for parents, teachers, healthcare professionals and the wider public on emerging tobacco products.
Translate the project’s evidence into concrete policy guidelines and a policymaking roadmap to inform national and EU‑level tobacco‑control efforts.
Methodology
RELIEF adopts a mixed‑methods, multi-country design combining evidence synthesis, empirical research and co‑creation. Key components include:
Evidence reviews and mapping
Systematic and scoping reviews of interventions targeting emerging tobacco products in Europe, coded with the Behaviour Change Techniques taxonomy and Theoretical Domains Framework.
Co‑created guidelines and recommendations with national experts across participating countries.
Multi‑country data collection
Large-scale surveys with students (6–12 years), parents and teachers in Cyprus, Iceland, Italy, Spain and other mapped countries, using validated measures of attitudes, beliefs and behavioural intentions.
Qualitative interviews with sub‑samples to explore perceptions in depth, including among vulnerable groups.
Eye‑tracking experiments in one country to study how parents process information about emerging tobacco products and which message components or behaviour change techniques attract attention.
Network‑based computational experiments to model how misinformation about emerging products spreads among parents and students.
Intervention and campaign development
Co‑design and piloting of a digital intervention toolkit hosted on a virtual platform, supporting skills‑building and structured conversations around tobacco risk and healthy behaviours.
Design of an awareness campaign (materials, workshops, events) tailored for parents, educators, healthcare professionals and communities, informed by the project’s evidence.
Policy translation
Development of a policymaking roadmap and policy recommendations for youth‑focused control of emerging tobacco products, aligned with the European Code Against Cancer and ongoing EU tobacco‑control priorities.
Target Groups
RELIEF focuses on stakeholders who are central to early‑life prevention of tobacco use:
Children aged 6–12 years in school settings
Parents and caregivers
Teachers and school staff
Healthcare professionals working with children and families
National and EU‑level policymakers and public health authorities
Civil society organisations active in tobacco control, youth health and health promotion
Impact
RELIEF is expected to:
Deliver a Europe‑wide map of initiatives, gaps and needs related to emerging tobacco products, including a digital dashboard highlighting status and best practices across at least 20 countries.
Provide a digital intervention toolkit piloted with end-users and embedded in a virtual knowledge‑sharing platform for students, parents and educators.
Equip parents, teachers and health professionals with practical skills and evidence‑based materials to counter the appeal and misinformation surrounding e‑cigarettes and other emerging products.
Support Member States with guidelines, gap analyses and a policymaking roadmap including concrete recommendations for reducing youth exposure and use of emerging tobacco products.
Contribute to the implementation of the European Code Against Cancer by addressing tobacco risk factors early in life and reinforcing a smoke‑ and aerosol‑free environment for children.
Publications
Team Members
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Partners
Funder
“Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them [Project Number:101233613]”