Crofton Award

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A young people’s group from Bridges Project in Musselburgh has premiered the short film they produced with the prize money it won as winners of the Crofton Award to coincide with ‘No Smoking Day’.

‘Smoking Your Time Away’ was put together by six East Lothian young people – a mixture of both smokers and non-smokers aged between 14 and 20. They were helped in its production by local professional film-maker David Barras.

The film deals with young people’s concerns about the impact of tobacco on their own health. Some members had started smoking in early adolescence and were already noticing the impact on their health and everyday fitness, such as chesty coughs, tiredness and breathlessness. Its aim is to arm members of their peer group with the facts so they can make up their own minds about smoking.

Senior Youth Development Worker from the Bridges Project, Sandie Wyles said, “Whilst it is difficult to measure the long-term impact of a project like this, we did notice definite improvement the young people’s confidence, communication skills and awareness of health issues related to tobacco use”.

Bridges Project has previously produced a music video ‘Smoke Gets in Your Eyes’ and a photo exhibition on the topic of young people’s tobacco use. For their latest project each of the group members played a part in scripting, editing, acting and filming the DVD as well as preparing props and costumes.

If you would like a copy of ‘Smoking Your Time Away’ contact Donald Lockhart, Youth Development Officer at ASH Scotland on 0131 220 9465, dlockhart@ashscotland.org.uk

The Crofton Award is the only award that recognises the achievements of young people in reducing tobacco and smoking-related harm in Scotland. This unique award contributes towards the development of new ideas and innovation by and for young people themselves with prize money of £1,500 to be shared between two groups - £1,000 for the Crofton Award Winner and £500 for the Crofton Award Best Newcomer.

Eligibility: The Crofton Award is intended for any project involving young people and interested in tackling tobacco in Scotland. Only groups, not individuals, may apply for the award. ‘Young people’ means those under 25.

If you think that your organisation or project around tobacco use or smoking may be eligible for the award, please download more information from the links below. Applications for the Crofton Award 2012 will open in August 2012.

Further information:

  • The Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland is an independent, self-financing registered Scottish charity (Number SC009406) whose main objectives are for the benefit of the community to promote the advancement of Environmental Health.