Smoking and Alcohol
Regulations and Standards
Related guidance
- First Aid, Home Remedies and Medication
- Health and Wellbeing, Health Notifications and Access to Services
- Smokefree – NHS
- Using Electronic Cigarettes to Stop Smoking – NHS
- Drinkaware – NHS
Amendment
This chapter was revised in September 2024.
The home should ensure that children are provided with advice and support as necessary on good health. This information should supplement that provided by any educational setting, and should cover smoking and alcohol.
It is an offence for shops to sell cigarettes and tobacco products to under 18s or for an adult to buy cigarettes or tobacco products for them.
Some children may already smoke when they are placed in the home. You should support and encourage such young people to reduce or stop smoking. Support is available from the Looked After Children’s Nurse or the young person’s GP. This should be discussed with the child/young person’s social worker and addressed as part of the young person’s Health Plan.
Staff are not permitted to purchase or give cigarettes / e-cigarettes, tobacco, or the materials for making or lighting cigarettes or tobacco to children.
Staff and visitors are not permitted to smoke in front of children. Homes may designate an area where staff may smoke.
Research on youth vaping has significantly increased over the past decade. While it remains a safe alternative than smoking cigarettes there is concern that vaping can serve as a gateway to traditional cigarette smoking.
Vaping can have serious consequences for young people. Some of the negative health effects associated with vaping include:
- Addiction to Nicotine: Nicotine, which is present in e-cigarettes, is highly addictive. It can harm adolescent brain development and lead to long-term dependence;
- Impact on Mental Health: Nicotine worsens anxiety and depression. It affects memory, concentration, self-control, and attention, especially in developing brains;
- Chemical Exposure: Vaping exposes young people to various chemicals. Although e-cigarettes are often marketed as a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes, they still contain harmful substances;
- Lung and Fitness Impact: Vaping can harm lung function and overall fitness. It may lead to decreased lung capacity and endurance;
- Increased Risk of Lung Disease: There is an increased risk of serious lung diseases associated with vaping, including conditions like popcorn lung (bronchiolitis obliterans);
- Other Harmful Substances: Besides nicotine, e-cigarettes contain other harmful substances such as formaldehyde, acrolein, and diacetyl;
- Brain Damage: Vaping can damage parts of the brain responsible for attention span, learning, mood, and impulse control;
- Negative Impact on Memory and Learning: Young people who vape may experience negative effects on memory and their ability to learn new skills.
It is an offence for shops to sell e-cigarettes to under 18s or for an adult to buy e-cigarettes for them.
The long term effects of vaping / E-cigarettes on health are unknown. Although it is safer than smoking conventional cigarettes, vaping is not without risk and young people should be encouraged to find healthier alternatives.
This should be discussed with the child/young person's social worker and addressed as part of the young person's Health Plan.
Staff are not permitted to purchase or give vapes to children/young people.
However, if a young person indicates that they would like to try e-cigarettes as a way of giving up smoking, they should be encouraged to contact the LAC Nurse, their GP or local stop smoking services.
For more information, please see: Electronic Cigarettes - Evidence and Advice on E-cigarettes (GOV.UK).
All homes should be alcohol free zones; alcohol should not be brought or kept on the premises and children should not normally be taken into licensed premises, unless it is part of a clear plan leading toward independence or a special occasion; e.g. Christmas.
Health promotion should address the effects of alcohol and provide the children with an informed view on the subject.
If staff are concerned that a child/young person has been drinking alcohol, this should be raised with the home’s manager and the child’s social worker as required. Where it becomes evident, or it is suspected, that a child or young person has been drinking alcohol, the most appropriate response will vary dependent on how much the young person has had to drink or how it has effected them. These options are outlined below:
- Offering fluids - water, squash;
- Periodic monitoring and checks by staff - 10 minutes, 30 minutes, hourly, etc.
- Contacting health professionals for advice e.g. G.P.;
- Hospitalisation for day patient or overnight stay if appropriate, etc.
See: Alcohol, Young People and the Law (GOV.UK).
Staff are not permitted to consume alcohol whilst on duty and should not arrive at work under the influence of alcohol. If this happens the relevant procedures will be followed.
Last Updated: September 18, 2024
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