YouTube video: a trailer from the "Ciggy Busters" first outing

by Ruth Banks

Gutsy students from Medway have been snatching shoppers’ cigarettes, in an effort to persuade them to kick the habit.

The sixth formers from The Hundred of Hoo Comprehensive School are taking direct action against smokers on high streets around the area, to produce material for a short anti-smoking film.

They hope their finished movie will help persuade other young people to stub out their fags.

Film director Margherita Gramegna - the artist in residence at the school - set the students the task of devising a film about smoking.

She said: “Some of the students were smokers themselves and said that they didn’t think the current anti-smoking adverts actually worked.

“They thought that Chatham, in particular, needed a stronger impact - something on the street - something that could resonate better than an advert you see polished up on the telly.

“The final idea was to go out and literally ambush smokers and take their cigarettes off them. The adverts don’t work, so we are going to make you stop smoking.”

In the first of their shoots on Chatham High Street, the teenagers swarmed around smokers en masse, yelling “Ciggy Busters” at them.

But Ms Gramegna says the reaction was surprisingly positive.

“I was scared about doing something so crazy on the street - I mean you can get arrested.

“But we researched it properly and planned it in a way that we covered all the possibilities.

“We didn’t start directly with the general public because we were scared of their reaction, so we planted some people to demonstrate with first.

“After that, people actually participated quite nicely and let us ambush them.

“They were actually saying that this was a very funny and interesting approach.”

The “Ciggy Busters” will be continuing their project on high streets around Medway in September.