Our North West Development Officer, Rachel, presented a brief 20 minute assembly introducing each topic with an interactive element. This encouraged the students to start thinking about how smoking and alcohol impacts their lives. After each assembly, we set up our health display in the common room for students to drop by informally for more information or to partake in any of the activities we had available.
During the first event, the ‘smoking goggles’ which simulate macular degeneration and the resources which show the visible impact of smoking on the body such as the ‘foul mouth’ display were of particular interest to the students. Many students had questions surrounding Shisha tobacco and second hand smoke, and we had leaflets available that they were able to take away and read for more information. Regardless of whether the students did or didn’t smoke, we had a steady amount of interest in the stand and enough time to engage with them about any smoking concerns they had.
For the second event, alcohol, the units challenge game was particularly thought provoking. This encouraged students to consider the number of alcoholic units in well-known drinks, and led to conversation surrounding the impact of binge drinking. The drinking goggles, which simulate the effect of excessive drinking, were also popular. We combined these with our ATM machine, demonstrating to the students the risks they are exposed to while under the influence. From this, we were able to discuss the dangers of drink spiking and many of the students took away one of our free drinks ‘Spikey’ hand outs.
We look forward to continuing our work with Lancaster Girls Grammar School in the New Year.