Highlights 

In 2025, the program was piloted at Phu Thuong and Hoan Kiem lower secondary schools on a whole-school basis, achieving the following key outcomes: 

• More than 2,200 students (100%) attended expert-led talk shows with a respiratory specialist from Bach Mai Hospital; 

• 40 teachers received in-depth training on the intervention’s content and delivery methods. 

• 29 classes completed 58 dedicated thematic sessions. 

• 421 students participated in the pre-intervention survey and 409 in the post-intervention survey to evaluate the intervention’s effectiveness. 

• 366 drawings, 26 posters, and 3 drama teams participated in the “Student Say No to E-Cigarettes” creative communication competition. 

• Program activities received coverage from more than 40 media outlets, including a broadcast segment on Hanoi Radio and Television. 

Photo 1: The “Students Say No to E-Cigarettes” talk show, co-organized by HUPH and VinFuture Foundation at Hoan Kiem Lower Secondary School. 

Photo 2: Thematic lessons being delivered in class. 

Photo 3: Award ceremony for the “Students Say No to E-Cigarettes” creative communication competition. 

Key Achievement: A Measurable Shift in Student Awareness 

Preliminary findings from the pre- and post-intervention surveys show a significant increase in students’ accurate understanding of the risks and components of e-cigarettes. Notable improvements include: 

• Awareness of e-cigarettes’ harmful effects on the brain rose sharply from 24.0% before the intervention to 63.8% afterward. 

• The proportion of students endorsing the belief that e-cigarettes are safer than conventional cigarettes declined from 8.7% before the intervention to 6.0% after its completion. 

• Meanwhile, the proportion of students expressing confidence in refusing e-cigarettes when offered by peers rose from 81.0% to 87.7%. 

An Evidence-Based Intervention and International Collaboration  

The program was developed based on the Project entitled “You and Me, Together Vape-Free” by REACH Lab at Stanford University, and informed by qualitative research involving 58 participants as well as expert consultation in Vietnam. The model was adapted to the Vietnamese context by converting the original six student-led lessons into two teacher-facilitated lessons to ensure contextual relevance, thereby enhancing feasibility and scalability for implementation in Vietnamese schools. 

A Need for Scaling up 

In the context of the growing penetration of e-cigarettes into school environments, the Year 1 pilot findings indicate that the intervention is both highly feasible and well-received, while also demonstrating its capacity to generate substantial positive communication outcomes. 

The integrated combination of classroom instruction, healthcare expert-led talk shows, visual communication campaigns, parent engagement, and student-driven creative activities has produced a comprehensive intervention model with clear potential for expansion across lower secondary schools in Hanoi and other major cities in Vietnam. 

The HUPH and the VinFuture Foundation anticipate that the Year 1 findings will provide a robust scientific basis for continued research, contribute to evidence-informed policy development, and support the expansion of the model, thereby helping to safeguard the health of Vietnamese adolescents from the harms associated with e-cigarette use.