Phibbestown youngsters scoop movie award

A YOUTH group from Dublin 15 has won an award for Best Peer Pressure Message at the Irish Cancer Society’s X-HALE Film Festival 2014.

Foroige Multi-Motions Youth Group from Phibbestown picked up the accolade for their short film,

‘The Honto’.

In total, 43 youth groups from around the country attended the presentation of awards that took place recently at the Lighthouse Cinema, Smithfield.

A total of 14 awards were decided by a judging panel which consisted of representatives from health promotion, film and entertainment industries.

Hundreds of young people gathered at the Festival to view the 47 films being showcased on the big screen for the awards.

With each short film focusing on the issue of smoking, the overarching message from the young people was that the next generation is seeing through the smoke screen of the tobacco industry.

The theme of the X-HALE Film Festival is in line with recent data from a report into the Health Behaviours of School Aged Children (HBSC). According to HBSC data, only one in ten young people in Ireland are now smoking and the percentage of young people who reported they currently smoke has decreased significantly between 1998 and 2010.

Almost one quarter of young people (21.2 per cent) were considered as

‘current smokers’ in 1998 compared to 11.9 per cent in 2010, meaning almost nine out of ten young people are now smoke free in Ireland.

Aside from a fall in current smoking rates, there has also been a notable decrease in the figures for young people who have

‘tried smoking’. In 2002, 62.1 per cent of young people aged 15-17 had tried smoking compared to 45.7 per cent in 2010.

Overall, a significant decline was also seen between 2002 and 2010 in the percentage of young people who reported having their first cigarette at aged 13 or younger.

This decreased from 60.2 per cent trying their first cigarette at aged 13 or younger in 2002 to 48.9 per cent in 2010. The figures show that Ireland is on track to become tobacco free, in line with the Government’s Tobacco Free Ireland policy to have less than 5 per cent of the population smoking by 2025.

The X-HALE Film Festival is part of the Irish Cancer Society’s X-HALE Youth Awards, an initiative which aims to empower young people to create awareness around the issue of smoking in their own communities.

CEO of the Irish Cancer Society, John McCormack, believes the trend in Ireland around smoking is changing.

“We are seeing a huge cultural shift into how smoking is treated and how it is perceived,

? he said.

“We are delighted that these youth groups from across the country have spoken for themselves and that they are so passionate about creating awareness around the negative effects of tobacco.

“They have put cigarettes on the big screen, stripped them back away from the clever branding and marketing tools of the tobacco industry and showed them for what they really are – consumer products which can and will kill you.

“I would like to congratulate all those who took part in the Festival, especially to Foróige Multi-Motions Youth Group, and commend them on the fantastic work they have done.

?

This is the fourth year of the X-HALE Youth Awards, which began in December 2010 when the Society invited applications from youth groups from all over Ireland for funding under the scheme.

Since its inception, the Society has invested

?¬115,000 in support for youth groups across the country.

The film projects from the festival can be viewed online at www.cancer.ie/xhale.