Volume 30 Issue 6 05 Mar 2021 21 Adar 5781

From the Director of Students

Adam Ezekiel – Director of Students 7-12

Paul Dillon – Drug, Alcohol Research and Training Australia (DARTA)

Last week Paul Dillon delivered the following presentations to our Years 10-12 students.

  • Year 10 – Young people, alcohol and risk taking: Looking after your mates.
  • Year 11 – Alcohol and cannabis: What if something goes wrong?
  • Year 12 – Last year at school: What do I need to know about alcohol and other drugs?

Paul Dillon has been working in drug education and research for more than 25 years. As an ex-school teacher, Paul has an interest in working with young people and delivering engaging, relevant and research-based presentations.

Vaping

Information for Paul Dillons blog: ‘Vaping’: What is it?

So, what is a ‘vape’? Essentially it’s a street term for devices usually referred to as ‘e-cigarettes’.  An e-cigarette is a nicotine delivery device that simulates tobacco smoking by producing a vapour. Operated by a battery, it vaporises a liquid solution which may contain nicotine and other flavours. When the liquid is turned into a vapour, this is inhaled or ‘vaped’.

So are these devices legal? It is currently illegal in Australia for commercial retail outlets to sell nicotine e-cigarettes. As it is illegal to sell vapes, vaping is currently unregulated and many come from overseas stating ‘no nicotine’ when in fact nicotine is present.

E-cigarettes do not produce the tar produced by conventional cigarettes which is the main cause of lung cancer. However, many scientists are concerned that using e-cigarettes could increase risk of lung disease, heart disease and cancer.

Parent resources

The conversation about alcohol, drugs, vaping and safe partying is an important conversation for young people to be having with their parents. Below are a range of resources that may assist you in this conversation:

DARTA factsheets

Positive Choices factsheet

Positive Choices webinar (1 hour) with Paul Dillon

This webinar is for parents and guardians of teenagers who are looking for strategies to help keep their child safe at parties. Teenage parties provide young people with valuable opportunities to develop a range of social skills that they need to relate effectively with their peers. As they get older, alcohol is more likely to become a part of these social gatherings and, unfortunately, things can go wrong.