ASSIST combines a ‘gold standard’ RCT with an innovative approach to reduce adolescent smoking prevalence. The most influential 12 and 13 year old students are identified and trained to work as peer supporters who then have informal conversations with their friends about the risks of smoking and the benefits of remaining smoke-free.

Aside from a reduction in smoking, schools who take part in the programme report an increase in resilience, connectedness and confidence amongst some of the students taking part.

Internationally and in the UK no other school-based smoking prevention programme has been found to be as effective. Recommended in NICE guidance, and with a QALY of around £12,700 the costs and benefits of the ASSIST intervention speak for themselves.

Customers using ASSIST benefit from high quality training and materials, opportunities to network with their peers and a rigorous Quality Assurance framework. We use this framework to maintain the fidelity of the original research in order to replicate the results. This avoids the need for customers to carry out their own evaluation. 

• Initial support and advice to determine customer resource requirements
• High quality training
• Quality Assurance
• Programme manuals and resource boxes
• Customer seminars
• Website
• Ongoing telephone support

• Over 160,000 students have now taken part in ASSIST, via more than 28,000 peer supporters.
• The evidence-based research suggests that approximately 3,250 young people would not go on to take up smoking as a result, who would otherwise have done so.
• ASSIST is now available in France.
• The programme is part of a big research project and was rolled out in Belfast and Bogotá in 2019.
• The successful ASSIST methodology is also being applied to research into other health behaviours including drugs, sexual health, and gambling.

"The course was really informative, and I still remember most of the things I learned, because they were taught in an interactive and interesting way. Also, from the course, I got more confident with approaching people and handling what could be difficult situations, I use these skills every day and they're something that has already helped me a lot, including situations not related to smoking at all. In general the course was a fun, hands on experience, and I walked away knowing so much more than I did before, without even realising that I had been learning so much. The environment was relaxed and friendly which made it easy and enjoyable to learn. When I came to talk to people about smoking, I found the people I spoke to reacted well to the knowledge I showed and the way I approached them, they seemed interested and comfortable whilst discussing a potentially awkward or sensitive topic."

~ Peer Supporter - Somerset, 2013

"I used the fact about secondhand smoking the most because I’ve noticed that when it comes to others they care more about other people than themselves."

~ Peer Supporter - Somerset, 2016

"At Firrhill High we highly valued the skills developed by this group of young people and have highlighted their potential in leading future peer activities. We have used our peer supporters to lead younger classes in delivering a tobacco education lessons and are planning further to use their skills in sharing our message on tobacco with our cluster primary schools alongside Laura from Fast Forward.

We have focussed on the special skills learned by pupils during this program and alerted other staff in school to this including parental reports which now record wider skills, achievement and attainment for young people at school.

Overall,  I would highly recommend the DECIPHer-ASSIST program to any school considering upskilling pupils and firmly believe that the skills developed by the young people significantly add to their portfolio of life skills.  These can also be utilised in a wide range of school activities – we certainly think our future Head Girls and Boys will be selected from this group."

~ Teacher, Lothian, 2016