Drugs, Alcohol, Tobacco and Vaping (Secondary)

Curriculum content:

1. The facts about which drugs are illegal, the risks of taking illegal drugs, including the
increased risk of potent synthetic drugs being added to illegal drugs, the risks of illicit
vapes containing drugs, illicit drugs and counterfeit medicines, and the potential health
harms, including the link to poor mental health.
2. The law relating to the supply and possession of illegal substances.
3. The physical and psychological risks associated with alcohol consumption. What
constitutes low risk alcohol consumption in adulthood, and the legal age of sale for
alcohol in England. Understanding how to increase personal safety while drinking
alcohol, including how to decrease the risks of having a drink spiked or of poisoning
from potentially fatal substances such as methanol.
4. The physical and psychological consequences of problem-use of alcohol, including
alcohol dependency.
5. The dangers of the misuse of prescribed and over-the-counter medicines.
6. The facts about the multiple serious harms from smoking tobacco (particularly the link
to lung cancer and cardiovascular disease), the benefits of quitting and how to access
support to do so.
7. The facts about vaping, including the harms posed to young people, and the role that
vapes can play in helping adult smokers to quit.