Community led change: tackling tobacco and vaping harms in Renfrewshire

Pachedu is a Renfrewshire based organisation that promotes diversity, equality, inclusion, and empowerment for minority and marginalised communities across Renfrewshire and the West of Scotland. Through events, workshops, and inclusive activities, Pachedu reduces isolation, celebrates cultural diversity, and supports health, wellbeing, and community integration. Their work has grown into a welcoming community hub where people from all backgrounds feel visible, valued, and empowered to participate in their communities.

The project used a combination of workshops, a peer education model, and a partnership with Jambo! Radio to create a podcast. Together, these approaches increased understanding of tobacco and vaping harms and supported positive behaviour change within their communities.

Community Workshops

As part of their project, Pachedu delivered a workshop facilitated by two staff members who had received training in tobacco and vaping harms. The session was held at their community hub and aimed to empower and educate their members on preventing harm from tobacco, vaping and second-hand smoke, in a culturally relevant manner.

Collaboration with Jambo! Radio

With support from Jambo! Radio, Pachedu ran a five‑day workshop series focused on health education, podcasting skills and message development. Using NHS resources, those involved researched and created audio content for broadcast. The final output was shared on social media and in subsequent youth group sessions. You can read more about the work Jambo! Radio undertook in our Engage Renfewshire blog post.

Peer Education Model

Pachedu adopted a peer education model, through their ‘ambassadors for change’ programme. By educating young people involved in their programme on tobacco and vaping harms, they were empowered to share these messages within their local schools, churches, community centres, and at events. This approach can be particularly effective, as messages delivered by peers often resonate more with the people they are trying to reach.

Overall impact

Through their project, Pachedu successfully increased awareness of tobacco, vaping and second-hand smoke harms among diverse ethnic minorities. The project produced culturally appropriate campaign resources, including a podcast and PowerPoint presentations, enabling engagement across multiple platforms.

In total, 65 people were directly engaged in the project, while a further 45 people received electronic copies of the presentation slides. This brought the total number of people engaged to 110.

The project is a strong example of aligning local work to the Tobacco and Vaping Framework in practice, with Pachedu recognising the importance of aligning their work with the national roadmap to create a tobacco-free generation.