Responding to National No Tobacco Week (May 25 - 31, 2025) and World No Tobacco Day (May 31): Preventing the harmful effects of tobacco in schools

According to warnings from authorities, the number of minors and students smoking cigarettes and using new tobacco products is on the rise. Tobacco use has negative impacts on students’ health and psychology, affecting many aspects of life. Prevention and control of tobacco harms (PCTHCTL) in schools is an urgent requirement, requiring attention and cooperation between functional sectors, and close coordination between schools, families and communities.

The tobacco harm prevention monitoring delegation of the Provincial Center for Disease Control (Department of Health ) worked at Nam Toan Secondary School (Nam Truc).

In recent times, the work of PCTHCTL has been focused on by theEducation and Training sector (GD&DT) and educational institutions (CSGD) and has achieved remarkable results. In order to create a smoke-free school environment, schools have organized many propaganda activities on the harmful effects of tobacco, gradually creating changes in the awareness and actions of teachers and students about the harmful effects of tobacco on health and the environment. Thanks to that, the situation of staff, teachers and students smoking in schools has decreased significantly. However, there is still a situation where a group of students use tobacco products, more specifically, many students also use new tobacco products such as: electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco, shisha... In some schools, students secretly bring electronic cigarettes and solutions containing addictive substances to school. Through monitoring, the Board of Directors, the School Ethics Committee and homeroom teachers have promptly prevented and warned families, and used strong measures to deter and educate students. Faced with this situation, to prevent tobacco use in schools, the Department of Education and Training has coordinated with the Department of Health to strengthen communication and widely disseminate the harmful effects of tobacco, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products to students, staff and teachers at educational institutions. Integrate teaching content on the harmful effects of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products into appropriate educational programs at each level.

Many localities, typically districts such as Ý Yên, Nam Trực, Hải Hậu... have focused on directing the introduction of teaching content on tobacco control in schools and expanding the implementation of smoke-free environment models. In particular, in Ý Yên district, schools focus on building a green - clean - beautiful - safe, healthy school environment, ensuring the health of teachers and students; actively implementing the provisions of the Law on Tobacco Control and documents guiding the implementation of the Law. Recognizing the important role of communication work, schools in the district have increased communication to cadres, teachers and students, mobilizing cadres, teachers and students to strictly implement the Law on Tobacco Control. On holidays, events held at schools, such as celebrating Vietnamese Teachers' Day (November 20), commemorating the founding day of the Ho Chi Minh Young Pioneers' Team (May 15), and the founding day of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (March 26), schools have integrated tobacco control propaganda into their welcoming programs. Primary, secondary and high schools in the area have planned and implemented effective measures to maintain a clean, smoke-free environment at school. Many secondary schools such as Lam, Yen Duong, Yen Dong and Yen Tri secondary schools have coordinated with the District Health Center and the Provincial Center for Disease Control to organize a health talk on tobacco control for staff, teachers and students of the whole school, with the following contents: the harmful effects of tobacco on health, the environment and losses to the country's socio -economic development; some key issues in the Law on Tobacco Control; Benefits of building smoke-free schools, criteria and steps to build smoke-free schools...

Along with developing a plan for tobacco control activities from the beginning of each school year, schools across the province have included the content of no smoking at school in their internal regulations and emulation and reward criteria for teachers and students, increased inspection work; strictly prohibiting the purchase, sale, advertising and marketing of tobacco-related products and images at schools. No smoking signs are hung in easy-to-observe locations, in meeting rooms and teachers' living rooms. Schools coordinate with local health units to regularly conduct propaganda, training and dissemination of knowledge to students, staff and teachers about the harmful effects of tobacco and e-cigarettes at schools and direct the construction of a smoke-free school model. For example, Dai An Secondary School (Vu Ban) has for many years increased communication to staff, teachers and students about the strict implementation of the Law on Tobacco Control. At the same time, it has coordinated with Vu Ban District Health Center to organize a health talk on tobacco control; the harmful effects of tobacco on health; some key issues in the Law on Tobacco Control... The school organized for staff, teachers and students to sign a commitment not to use tobacco, not to buy, sell or market tobacco in any form and to include the content of not smoking in the evaluation and emulation criteria of staff, teachers and students. Thereby, the awareness of staff, teachers and students of the school has been significantly raised; they have become active "propagandists" for their families and communities to carry out tobacco control well, build a healthy living environment, towards no more diseases and disabilities caused by tobacco. With the synchronous implementation of solutions, Dai An Secondary School is a typical unit of Vu Ban district to carry out tobacco control well.

Schools coordinate with the health sector, local political and mass organizations to hang banners, posters, distribute leaflets... about tobacco use at visible and easy-to-see locations in the school. At the same time, organize research competitions, seminars, talks, and propaganda about tobacco use through extracurricular educational activities, flag salutes, class activities, Youth Union and Team activities...; incorporate tobacco use content into extracurricular curriculum, promptly commend and reward groups and individuals with good models, effective and creative ways of doing tobacco use in schools; have many strong and strict measures to prevent students from accessing and using tobacco.

With efforts in tobacco control, awareness of school administrators, teachers and students has been significantly improved, there has been a positive change in behavior, there is no longer a phenomenon of teachers smoking in school premises, in the office. Many officials and teachers who used to smoke have now successfully quit smoking. At the end of April, the Department of Health organized 4 monitoring sessions on tobacco control at 64 schools in the province. Through monitoring, it was shown that the units have developed plans and implemented tobacco control well; 61 units achieved the first smoke-free unit; 3 units achieved the good and promising unit. At the monitoring session, the units requested to be provided with additional communication materials such as billboards, slogans, leaflets, posters, communication materials; increased training on the harmful effects of tobacco, the Tobacco Control Law, and guidelines for building a smoke-free environment. Through monitoring, the relevant authorities have assessed the implementation of the Law on Tobacco Control in schools; at the same time, they have proposed solutions to help units strictly implement the Law on Tobacco Control as well as build a smoke-free working environment.

To continue the PCTHCTL, the movement to build a solid smoke-free school, it is necessary to focus on maintaining continuous propaganda work, and be more drastic in punishing smoking in the school environment. Raising awareness and perception of the harmful effects of tobacco in each student and teacher, contributing to protecting health, reducing the rate of smoking in the community.

Article and photos: Minh Thuan

Source: https://baonamdinh.vn/xa-hoi/202505/huong-ung-tuan-le-quoc-gia-khong-thuoc-la-25-3152025-va-ngay-the-gioi-khong-thuoc-la-315-phong-chong-tac-hai-cua-thuoc-latrong-truong-hoc-c5a2ec0/