Assembly resources

Vaping: The Facts You Need to Hear

Free vaping assembly for Years 7 to 11. Editable slides, recent UK data, spiked and illegal vapes, the law, a full speaker script and tutor-time reflection.

Year group: KS3 and KS4 (Years 7 to 11) Best delivered: Any time, especially alongside PSHE or RSHE, around Stoptober or No Smoking Day, or after a vaping-related incident Duration: About 17 minutes, with a 15-minute shorter route Tone: Factual, calm and non-judgemental What you need - The editable 16-slide PowerPoint assembly. - The full speaker script and guidance PDF. - Presenter guidance embedded in the PowerPoint notes. - Your school's behaviour, drugs and safeguarding procedures. - Your local youth stop-vaping service or school nursing contact, if available.

We built this assembly to give students the facts about vaping without scare tactics or a telling-off.

It begins by asking pupils to estimate how many young people vape, then uses recent UK evidence to establish that most young people do not.

The assembly explains how vaping often begins through friendship groups, what is inside a vape, how nicotine dependence can feel, and what is known about short-term health effects.

It also covers illegal and spiked vapes, youth-focused marketing, the law, practical refusal language and routes to support.

The finished download includes purpose-made graphics, two click reveals and editable school-specific support routes.

No pupil is asked to disclose whether they vape or to share personal or family experiences.

Before delivery: - Check that the wording about asking for help matches your school policy. - Brief your DSL and pastoral team, as the assembly may prompt disclosures about dependence, illegal substances, adults supplying vapes or shops selling to under-18s. - Add your school's rules and local support contacts to the marked slides. - Rehearse the click reveals on slides 2 and 8.

Script notes Begin with what is normal (Slides 1-3, about 2.5 minutes) Ask pupils silently to estimate how many people their age vape.

The reveal uses 2025 ASH data for 11 to 15-year-olds and a 100-person graphic to show that the clear majority do not vape.

This avoids accidentally making vaping appear more common than it is.

How it starts and what is inside (Slides 4-5, about 2.5 minutes) Show how a first vape is commonly offered by a friend, then use the illustrated cutaway to explain the battery, coil, e-liquid and aerosol.

Keep the language factual and avoid presenting real products or brands.

Nicotine and the body (Slides 6-8, about 3.5 minutes) Explain dependence in terms pupils may recognise: urges, irritability, disrupted concentration and feeling that a vape is needed to feel normal.

Cover immediate effects without overstating uncertain long-term evidence.

Answer the common question about vaping being safer than smoking carefully: vaping can help adult smokers move away from cigarettes, but that does not make it safe or appropriate for children and non-smokers.

Illegal and spiked vapes (Slides 9-10, about 3 minutes) Explain that an illegal or unregulated vape may not contain what the buyer expects.

University of Bath testing found spice in one in six of 596 vapes confiscated across 38 English schools.