As national ‘No Smoking Day’ on 10th March, 2010 brings the health risks of smoking into focus again, national anti-smoking charity, The Deborah Hutton Campaign, is commending a series of young film makers from Healthy Schools for their innovative short films created as part of the charity’s groundbreaking new Cut Films competition.

Piloted in nine schools between September and November 2009, the Cut Films film project challenged young people to research, write and produce a short film about the dangers of smoking, and then to publish them for their peers on You Tube and Facebook via the Cut Films website: www.cutfilms.org.

The two winning films, which were created by students from Elizabeth Garrett School in London and Wirral Grammar School in Merseyside, will be premiered as part of an Awards Ceremony on Thursday 18th March where they will receive an award presented by leading Film Director, Kevin MacDonald (State of Play, The Last King of Scotland).

Charlie Stebbings, leading film director and Founding Trustee of the Deborah Hutton Campaign says; “The number of young people who smoke has come down significantly, but there are still too many teenagers starting smoking and getting addicted. I want to give young people a voice to explore the subject and convey messages that they think will stop other young people from smoking.”

The launch of Cut Film coincides with the Department of Health’s brand new Tobacco Control Strategy: ‘A Smokefree Future’ which highlights the need ‘to stop the inflow of young people recruited as smokers’ as the first of its three key objectives, with a specific focus on reducing the smoking rate among 11–15-year-olds to 1% or less, and the rate among 16–17-year-olds to 8% by 2020.

Cut Films closely supports this Government ambition, providing an extremely timely, creative and cost-effective teaching resource for schools which empowers young people to choose a smokefree future, and a full evaluation of the pilot phase of Cut Films has just been published, based upon research with teachers and students from each of the participating pilot schools.

Karen Ford, Trustee for the charity and independent consultant in health research and policy says, “Young people who took part in Cut Films said they felt that the approach created a strong environment for them to find their own voice on the issue of smoking, and to get the message about the consequences of smoking out to their peers. Some young participants who were reportedly non-smokers also suggested that the film making process did help persuade them not to take up smoking.

A number of different approaches were used to deliver the Cut Films project within schools – it was offered both within the curriculum as part of a range of key stage 3 core subjects, as part of GCSE and BTEC media studies courses, and as an extra curricula school club.

Karen adds, “Teachers involved in Cut Films reported that it provided them with a flexible, effective and user-friendly teaching resource for educating students on the issue of smoking, closely supporting their PSHE delivery and work towards achieving National Healthy School Status.

“In addition, many teachers found that the project improved the self esteem and self-confidence of participants and promoted a high level of engagement from more disaffected students.”

Lucinda Shaw, Director of The Deborah Hutton Campaign adds; “We’re delighted by the quality, diversity and creativity of the films that have been produced as part of Cut Films and most of all, by the energy, enthusiasm and dedication with which all of the young people have taken part.

“Building on the learning and results from this successful pilot, we are now working towards rolling out Cut Films as an annual competition for all schools from Autumn 2010, with the aim of inspiring many more young people to communicate with their peers on this important message about not smoking.”

For more information about The Deborah Hutton Campaign or to get involved in Cut Films, please visit: www.deborahhuttoncampaign.org or contact Campaign Director, Lucinda Shaw on: 020 7700 3701