Introduction:
Tobacco Free Advent Calendar (TFAC) 2023 is a European Tobacco Control and Public Health project that promotes collaboration, innovation, and youth empowerment in tobacco control. The objectives were to evaluate the involvement of medical students’ associations in TFAC, identify opportunities and challenges in collaboration between tobacco control and medical students’ associations, and determine best practices for establishing long-term collaborations with medical students’ associations within the framework of the European Tobacco Control Youth Movement.

Material and Methods:
An online focus group discussion was conducted among members of TFAC, representatives of Tobacco Control (TC) Youth Organizations, and Medical Students’ Associations (MSA). Participants were chosen based on their experience in TC or leading MSAs and were asked to conduct a brief literature review in preparation. The meeting was recorded and transcribed using Zoom Pro. Analysis of the anonymized transcript was done digitally in MarginNote 4. Explicit non-official consent of participants was assured, and approval of the ethical committee was not required.

Results:
MSA’s expressed interest in supporting TC, providing volunteers, and promoting the campaigns to medical students. Challenges, perceived by MSAs, in collaborating with TC organizations are limited time, financial resources, and training. According to MSA’s raising awareness on the effects of smoking on health and the university environment is essential. Planning the involvement of medical students in advance, and leadership of peers and mentors were measures proposed by TC representatives to improve collaboration with MSAs, the involvement of medical students in TFAC was appreciated. The literature review evolved around Youth Empowerment Theory, FCTC, and the Involvement of international MSAs in TC.

Conclusions:
Time, Resources, and long-term motivation are challenges in collaborating with MSAs. Planning, clear messages, peers, and mentors are crucial in the involvement of MSAs and medical students in TC.