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A collaborative project emphasising the crucial role of young people's voices in shaping public health policy has been awarded funding from the NIHR School for Public Health Research (SPHR).

Led by the University of Sheffield, Newcastle University, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the 'Supporting tobacco and vaping policymaking by including youth voices in local authority responses to new national legislation (STAR)' project starts this week. The Sheffield Addictions Research Group (SARG) at the University of Sheffield is a key partner in this important work.

The STAR project aims to ensure that local council responses to upcoming national legislation are informed by those most affected – young people aged 11-17. This includes significant changes such as the move towards a 'smoke-free generation' by raising the legal age for tobacco sale annually from 2027, as well as new vaping regulations, including the ban on single-use vapes which came into effect this weekend. By actively involving youth perspectives, the project seeks to support the development of more equitable and effective local policies that address both smoking and vaping.

The research team believes that while the importance of including young people's perspectives in health policymaking is increasingly recognised, further work is needed to understand how to integrate youth voices into local implementation of the new national legislation on tobacco and vaping. The forthcoming legislation will significantly affect the lives of young people, making it crucial that youth voices inform local implementation strategies.

Over the next year, the STAR project team will be working collaboratively to:

• Hear from young people: Conducting focus groups in Doncaster, Tower Hamlets and Newcastle to understand their perspectives on the new laws, potential consequences, and what support they believe councils could offer.
• Talk to local policymakers: Interviewing council professionals involved in children and young people's health policies to understand their approaches, current engagement with young people, and how youth input could be beneficial.
• Bring ideas together: Facilitating workshops with local authority representatives to co-develop practical recommendations for meaningfully involving young people in local policy decisions.

The research team, led by Ellie Holding and Dr Duncan Gillespie from the University of Sheffield, alongside Dr Ryc Aquino (Newcastle University), Dr Greg Hartwell (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine), and Dr Lorna Dowrick (Sheffield Hallam University and City of Doncaster Council), brings together academic expertise and practice collaborators from City of Doncaster Council, Newcastle City Council, Tower Hamlets London Borough Council, and the South Yorkshire Tobacco Control Alliance.

The STAR project has received £229k funding from SPHR and will run from June 2025 to August 2026. The findings and recommendations will be shared with local, regional and national stakeholders to promote the meaningful inclusion of young people in public health policymaking, contributing to a future where both tobacco use and youth vaping are reduced.

This project underscores the vital role of understanding the perspectives of young people as significant national legislation, aimed at creating a smoke-free generation and addressing youth vaping is rolled out locally.