With warmer weather on the way, some youth may be engaging in riskier behaviors with their peers. As many of us know, afterschool and summer programs are a great strategy to support upstream, primary prevention for substance use and support youth in navigating tricky social situations. When I saw this article in Education Week, I knew I had to share it and talk about the trends we’re seeing: Educators do think students are vaping more.
Despite national trends showing the decreased use of e-cigarettes, educators are still reporting increased use. A survey of teachers, principals, and district leaders shows alarming changes in students’ use/attempted use of nicotine products in the past year.
This speaks to the critical role that school-based tobacco prevention efforts have in stopping our younger generations from future nicotine dependence and addiction.
So what does this have to do with social-emotional learning and the work we do at afterschool programs? SEL skills like responsible decision-making, positive identity development, and developing healthy coping skills can prevent youth from trying tobacco and help them resist peer pressure. Even if your program doesn’t have a specific focus on tobacco prevention, we can all agree that staying informed on the ways youth are engaging with tobacco and nicotine can help prepare us to recognize warning signs.
Did You Know? Nicotine pouches like Zyn, ON!, and and 2ONE are discreet and stored in containers similar to breath mints. Vapes can be as small as mini pencils and are easy to conceal in pencil cases or pockets.
The Education Week article listed 4 recommendations for helping to curb students’ use of nicotine products:
1. Have Clear Policies and Plans. Schools and programs should have clear and well-communicated policies about the consequences for using e-cigarettes on campuses. Schools should also have plans for screening students who are addicted to e-cigarettes and getting appropriate help for those students. As an afterschool program, this may look like knowing which staff members to connect with from the school day who would act if notified that a young person was believed to be using tobacco. You do not need to directly intervene if you aren’t comfortable; you can delegate to someone else.
2. Avoid the Use of Scare Tactics or Discipline. These approaches won’t work without an education component; students tune out when they hear them. Real behavior change from youth often stems from strong relationships with the adults in their lives. Scare tactics can break trust and prevent youth from asking when they really need help out of fear of getting in trouble.
3. Design an Educational Approach. This should be broader than just educating students on the dangers of vaping (which surveys show many adolescents don’t know about). It should also employ elements of media literacy in which students are taught to see how advertising campaigns are trying to manipulate them in unhealthy ways. Vermont Afterschool created Tobacco Use Prevention Modules (“Tobacco Has a Web of Influence and SO DO YOU!”) available on our website for anyone to use.
4. Include Adults in Anti-Vaping Efforts in Meaningful Ways. Involving parents, caregivers, teachers, principals, coaches, and afterschool providers will have a meaningful impact on curbing adolescents’ vaping. We can’t put all the pressure to resist using tobacco on youth themselves. We all play a part in supporting the healthy growth and development of the youth in our communities.
It is the responsibility of everyone who works with youth to be part of larger tobacco prevention conversations, and as afterschool program providers, the existence of our programs helps to create powerful protective factors in young peoples’ lives. Rock on!
Marla Goldstein
Youth Resilience Coordinator
