Teachers - the ones who create 'vaccines' to help students protect themselves from cigarette smoke

On the morning of November 5, at Phan Dinh Phung High School (Hanoi), a workshop on “ Education and communication on tobacco harm prevention in schools” took place. The workshop was organized by the Education and Times Newspaper ( Ministry of Education and Training ) in coordination with the Tobacco Harm Prevention Fund (Ministry of Health).

Every lecture can become a “vaccine”

At the workshop, journalist Trieu Ngoc Lam - Editor-in-Chief of Education and Times Newspaper affirmed that the workshop "Education and communication on tobacco harm prevention in schools" is not only one of a series of professional events, but also a strong commitment of the education sector to the health, ethics and future of the young generation of Vietnam.

“The fight against tobacco cannot rely solely on medicine or law, but must also be a battle of consciousness, knowledge and personality. Education and communication are the two most important spearheads. The school environment is not only a place to teach, but also a place to cultivate people. Each teacher not only imparts knowledge, but is also a living example, an inspiration for a healthy lifestyle, responsibility for themselves and the community. Therefore, communication and education on tobacco harm prevention in schools is not simply propaganda, but a process of sowing life values to help students understand and believe,” said Mr. Lam.

The Editor-in-Chief of Education and Times Newspaper emphasized: "The education sector holds a special position in the fight against the harmful effects of tobacco. It is not only a place to equip knowledge, but also an environment that shapes people's personality and behavior. Every lecture, every extracurricular activity, every story teachers tell... can become a "vaccine of awareness", helping students understand the harmful effects of tobacco and know how to protect themselves..."

Journalist Trieu Ngoc Lam - Editor-in-Chief of Education and Times Newspaper spoke at the Workshop.

Mr. Lam added that recently, there have been many documents directing and guiding educational institutions to build smoke-free schools, integrate tobacco harm prevention content into the curriculum and increase communication through the press and social networks. However, new generation tobacco products are increasingly sophisticated and easily accessible to students, making management and supervision in schools, especially at high school and university levels, still challenging. For this work to be effective and sustainable, Mr. Lam believes: "Each teacher needs to become a 'media ambassador', spreading a healthy lifestyle, contributing to protecting the health, intelligence and qualities of the young generation of Vietnam."

Agreeing with the above viewpoint, MSc. Dr. Phan Thi Hai - Deputy Director of the Tobacco Harm Prevention Fund stated: "Protecting students from the harmful effects of tobacco, especially e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, is always the core goal of the Tobacco Harm Prevention Program.

Recently, the Tobacco Harm Prevention Fund ( Ministry of Health ) has coordinated with the Ministry of Education and Training and localities to carry out many practical activities: organizing thousands of communication sessions, compiling documents, videos, lectures, maintaining the "Smoke-free School" model and training teachers on skills to integrate tobacco prevention and control content. Thanks to that, the smoking rate among teenagers has decreased significantly, but this result is being threatened by the rapid increase of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products.

"In the coming time, the Tobacco Harm Prevention Fund will continue to coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Training and relevant agencies to expand communication, support the development of teaching materials, train teachers in propaganda skills and replicate the 'Smoke-free school' model, aiming to help students access more accurate, scientific and closer information," said Ms. Hai.

MSc. Dr. Phan Thi Hai - Deputy Director of the Tobacco Harm Prevention Fund hopes to continue to coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Training and relevant agencies to expand communication about the harmful effects of tobacco.

Many creative methods in promoting smoke-free schools

From the practical implementation of the "Smoke-free school" model , Mr. Nguyen Quang Minh , Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Phu Tho, shared: "100% of schools in the area have issued regulations prohibiting smoking on campus, 100% of students and teachers have signed a commitment to implement. Extracurricular activities and communication on tobacco prevention and control have become regular and in-depth...

The Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Phu Tho proposed a number of solutions to improve the effectiveness and replicate the smoke-free school model: Innovate communication messages, focus on electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products, organize creative campaigns such as student-made clips, interactive posters, flag-raising radio, livestream...; Promote the role of homeroom teachers and student propagandists, each class has a "Smoke-free school environment ambassador", coordinate with teachers to detect early, reflect and spread actions; Coordinate interdisciplinary to control the supply around the school, connect with the Police, Market Management, Health to prevent the sale of electronic cigarettes near the school and online; Set up a "Smoke-free" index in schools, monitor commitments, extracurricular activities, violations, students mobilizing relatives to quit smoking... to evaluate and reward periodically.

Not only Phu Tho, many other schools are also innovating their communication methods. Ms. Phung Thi Thu Trang - Vice Principal of Nguyen Du Secondary School (Thai Nguyen) informed about the application of information technology, social networks and AI in propaganda against tobacco in schools , designing digital lessons, communication products "made by teens", helping students to access and remember longer.

In Hue, teacher Cao Le Quang - Dang Van Ngu Secondary School has applied life values education, life skills and STEAM methods, organized mock trials, poster design competitions, or propaganda painting exhibitions so that students can both study and become active propagandists.

At Dong Da Secondary School (Hanoi), to prevent tobacco, the school has implemented many close communication activities such as making clips, drawing pictures, launching the movement "Students say no to electronic cigarettes", and at the same time closely coordinated with the locality in inspection and supervision. According to Ms. Dao Thi Cuc , Vice Principal of the school , said the propaganda was carried out vividly, spoken in the language of "teenagers" and maintained regularly in creative forms, helping the school maintain the title of "Smoke-free school" for many years.

At the workshop, Mr. La Ngoc Duy - teacher of Na Hang Boarding Secondary and High School for Ethnic Minorities (Tuyen Quang) also shared his experience in designing lessons or educational activities on tobacco prevention that are attractive to students, helping them to easily absorb and remember for a long time. At the same time, to make educational activities on tobacco prevention become closer, easier to absorb and help students remember knowledge longer.

To achieve that goal, he designed a set of 4 infographics with the theme “Preventing the harmful effects of tobacco on cardiovascular health”. This set of pictures is made in image file format (PNG) with the size of 1080 x 1350 px. The purpose is to convey scientific information about the harmful effects on the cardiovascular system in a concise, intuitive and vivid way.

"From my experience in creating the above infographic, I have concluded that to design an engaging anti-tobacco education lesson or activity that helps students absorb and remember easily, we need to focus on three main principles: Visual, Scientific and Practical Application...", said Mr. La Duy Ngoc.

In her presentation "Tobacco Challenge: The War of the Young Generation" , teacher Pham Kim Phuc ( Phan Chau Trinh High School, (Da Nang) helped students identify types of cigarettes, addiction mechanisms and harmful effects on health. She also implemented many vivid educational activities such as: "Tobacco lung" experiment - using an empty plastic bottle with a cigarette attached, cotton in the mouth, lighting the cigarette and squeezing the bottle to simulate the smoking process; Mock trial - organizing a mock trial to judge smoking behavior; Organizing a design contest - infographic or electronic poster; Integrating into subjects: integrating content about the harmful effects of cigarettes into subjects such as: Biology, Literature, economic and legal education...

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/giao-vien-nguoi-tao-nhung-lieu-vaccine-giup-hoc-sinh-bao-ve-minh-truoc-khoi-thuoc.html