Strengthening education and communication on tobacco harm prevention in schools

At the workshop "Education and communication on tobacco harm prevention in schools" organized by the Education and Times Newspaper in collaboration with the Tobacco Harm Prevention Fund (Ministry of Health), many opinions affirmed: Tobacco products, especially electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products, are quietly creeping into the school environment in increasingly sophisticated forms, targeting students' curiosity and desire to express themselves.

Representatives of educational institutions said that although the Ministry of Education and Training has issued many documents directing and guiding the construction of "smoke-free schools", integrating tobacco prevention and control content into the curriculum and increasing communication in the press and social networks, in reality, there are still gaps in management and supervision, especially at high school and university levels.

Sharing at the workshop, Ms. Dao Thi Cuc, Vice Principal of Dong Da Secondary School ( Hanoi ) said: The rate of 13-15 year old students trying cigarettes is on the rise. Faced with this risk, the school has deployed many creative forms of communication such as drawing, making clips, organizing the "Smoke-free school" model, launching the movement "Students say no to electronic cigarettes". According to Ms. Cuc, communication must "speak in the language of teenagers" so that students can easily accept it, and at the same time, close coordination between school - family - society is needed.

From the perspective of technology application, Ms. Phung Thi Thu Trang, Vice Principal of Nguyen Du Secondary School (Thai Nguyen), said that the school uses fanpage, zalo, and facebook to spread media products made by students themselves, including many propaganda videos using AI technology.

Anti-tobacco propaganda event in Thai Nguyen

Proposing effective educational methods, teacher Cao Le Quang, Dang Van Ngu Secondary School (Hue City), emphasized the role of education on life values ​​and life skills; integrating tobacco prevention content into subjects and organizing experiential activities such as forums and clubs "Students say no to tobacco".

Master, Doctor Phan Thi Hai, Deputy Director of the Tobacco Harm Prevention Fund (Ministry of Health), said: The Fund has deployed thousands of communication sessions at schools, compiled many documents and videos and supported “smoke-free school” models. However, Ms. Hai warned that the rate of e-cigarette use among adolescents is increasing rapidly, more than 3 times higher than in 2019.

“We need stronger cooperation to protect students from the risks of new generation cigarettes,” Ms. Hai emphasized.

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/tang-cuong-giao-duc-truyen-thong-phong-chong-tac-hai-thuoc-la-trong-truong-hoc-20251110153220782.htm