Behind the scenes of students' easy access to cigarettes and vape

The publication of videos of students smoking in classrooms and school restrooms, along with the observation of teenagers using vape and electronic cigarettes before entering school or on the way to and from school, has once again raised the issue of using these substances at a young age and how students have access to these products.

According to Ambassador Arjan, in a conversation we had with a 14-year-old student who uses cigarettes and vape, he said the reason for using them is the good feeling he experiences after using these products. The student also said that he can buy cigarettes without his parents' knowledge and order vape online and have it delivered to his home.

These talks put an important question before the families and responsible institutions that; Through what routes do teenagers get access to tobacco and nicotine products and how effective are the existing mechanisms in preventing this access?

Vape or electronic cigarette is also not necessarily free of nicotine, contrary to the idea that it is sometimes safe, the World Health Organization has declared that many of these products containing nicotine are addictive and the resulting aerosol can contain toxic and harmful substances. Nicotine use during adolescence can also negatively affect brain development and functions such as learning, attention, and impulse control.

In such circumstances, the prevention of the use of these substances among students cannot be achieved only with educational warnings, access to products, monitoring of supply points, early identification of high-risk behaviors, and empowering families should also be considered in this direction.

In this connection, we had a conversation with Somia Ebrahimi, Director General of Educational Affairs, Counseling and Care Against Social Harms of the Ministry of Education.

Activity of 34,000 schools in the Life Support Centers program

Samieh Ebrahimi, Director General of Educational Affairs, Counseling and Care Against Social Harms of the Ministry of Education and Culture, in an interview with social reporter Ambassador Arjan, said about the Ministry's preventive measures: the program of the Life Helpers Center was designed and developed with the aim of building capacity to attract the participation of peers in the primary prevention of addiction and high-risk behaviors.

He explained: In this program, efforts are made to empower students in the field of prevention of addiction and high-risk behaviors by forming and networking student support groups and the participation of school and neighborhood stakeholders.

According to Ebrahimi; Together with parents, school and local stakeholders, students participate in identifying high-risk behaviors, formulating preventive strategies, gaining support, designing and implementing small school projects, and documenting actions.

Director General of Educational Affairs, Counseling and Care Against Social Harms of the Ministry of Education, referring to the beginning of the implementation of this program in 2018, said: In the academic year 1405-1404, about 34 thousand schools were members of life support centers.

Consultant in 21 thousand schools; What is the status of other schools?

One of the important axes of preventing high-risk behaviors in schools is timely identification of students at risk of harm and providing them with access to counseling services.

Ebrahimi said: Currently, there are counselors in 21,000 schools, and the priority is to place counselors with schools in vulnerable areas. In schools that do not have an established counselor, trained teachers act as counselor liaisons, and counseling and referral services are provided through these people and counseling centers and psychological services in the regions.

He also introduced the 1570 line as one of the ways to access educational consulting services.

Identifying behavioral changes, sudden academic decline, mood changes and social isolation, along with counseling without stigmatization and referring high-risk cases to specialized centers, can be effective in dealing with students' problems early.

Cooperation of 14 institutions for social care of students

The Director General of Educational Affairs, Counseling and Care against Social Harms of the Ministry of Education stated about the cooperation between the responsible institutions to deal with the social harms of students: the main axis of this cooperation has been formed in the form of the national coalition of the students' social care system under the name of Symbol.

According to him; This mechanism is followed based on the Child and Adolescent Protection Law, the Nomad Coalition document, its executive regulations, and the 7th Development Plan, and 14 institutions including the Ministry of Health, Faraja, the Welfare Organization, the Judiciary, and the Ministry of Education are members of it.

Ebrahimi said, referring to the possible violations of the sellers around the schools, "Education reports the violations of the shops around the schools to the judicial authorities and places."

He also emphasized the role of self-care training and life support centers in increasing students' awareness.

According to Article 10 of the Executive Regulations of the Comprehensive National Tobacco Control and Combat Law, the sale of tobacco products through the Internet and vending machines is prohibited. Also, according to Article 11 of this regulation, if the seller is in doubt about the buyer's age, he must demand his identification document to verify that he is at least 18 years old.

These regulations, along with the field report of a student who talked about the possibility of ordering vape online, highlight the necessity of examining the supply routes of these products.

education of families; From recognizing the signs to talking with teenagers

Ebrahimi said about parent education programs: family education is followed through the association of parents and educators and holding courses focusing on effective communication skills with teenagers, recognizing the signs of smoking and how to deal with children.

According to him; Acquainting parents with behavioral and mood changes of teenagers, devices related to the consumption of nicotine products and how to talk with children are among the topics of interest in these trainings.

He added: Parenting guides are provided through the Shad network, and parents can use the 1570 line to receive guidance on how to talk and deal with their children.

The Director General of Educational Affairs, Counseling and Care against Social Harms of the Ministry of Education also announced the compilation of a manual for the primary prevention of addiction and high-risk behaviors for all three academic courses, which follows the training and empowerment of students, parents and employees.

Family education can play a more effective role when, in addition to recognizing the possible signs of use, parents know how to talk to their children without threats, humiliation, or punitive treatment, and seek help from counseling services if needed. At the same time, the responsibility of preventing minors from accessing tobacco products cannot be placed solely on families.

Prevention of social damage without dedicated budget

One of the important points in the answers provided by the official of the Ministry of Education is the issue of financial resources for preventive programs.

In response to the question about the amount of budget allocated this year for the prevention of smoking and other social harms among students, Ebrahimi stated: No dedicated budget has been allocated to the Education and Culture Vice-Chancellor for this issue.

Not knowing the amount of financial resources, the cost of implementing programs, and the indicators for evaluating results makes it difficult to measure the appropriateness of existing facilities with the range of schools' needs.

Monitoring the supply of students' education

The story of a 14-year-old student who says that he can buy cigarettes and vape at home without the knowledge of his family, along with published pictures of smoking in educational environments, shows the need for a more detailed investigation of this issue.

Effective prevention of smoking and vaping among adolescents requires a coordinated set of measures; From training and consulting to monitoring the supply points, dealing with unauthorized sales and continuous evaluation of program results.