SmokeSCREEN

The play2PREVENT Lab at the Yale Centre for Health and Learning Games, Yale University.

smokeSCREEN is a videogame aimed at preventing smoking and vaping among adolescents. In the game players are a new kid in school who is trying to fit in. Players complete a series of challenges to make new friends and be a successful student. smokeSCREEN teaches players how to navigate tricky situations about smoking and vaping, including how to make safe choices when being peer pressured. Read more in the smokeSCREEN teachers manual.  

Whilst developed for an American audience smokeSCREEN is still highly applicable to Australian adolescents.

The game includes 7 different storylines to complete with total game time being approximately 2 hours. Players are not required to finish the game in one sitting. 

• Increased knowledge and understanding of the harms of e-cigarettes and other tobacco products.
• Increased risk perception and negative health beliefs of e-cigarettes and other tobacco products.

Benefits associated with playing smokeSCREEN have been evaluated in two published studies as listed below.

Hieftje, K. D., Fernandes, C. F., Lin, I. H., & Fiellin, L. E. (2021). Effectiveness of a web-based tobacco product use prevention videogame intervention on young adolescents' beliefs and knowledge. Substance abuse, 42(1), 47–53. https://doi.org/10.1080/08897077.2019.1691128

Pentz, M. A., Hieftje, K. D., Pendergrass, T. M., Brito, S. A., Liu, M., Arora, T., Tindle, H. A., Krishnan-Sarin, S., & Fiellin, L. E. (2019). A videogame intervention for tobacco product use prevention in adolescents. Addictive behaviors, 91, 188–192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.11.016