Smoking and Alcohol

1. Smoking

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.

1.1 E-cigarettes/Vapes

"The use of e-cigarettes among young people is rare and is almost entirely confined to those young people who  already smoke".

See: Public Health England - Independent Expert E-cigarettes Evidence Review.

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, but it should be regarded as potentially harmful to health in the same way as smoking.

Some children/young people may already vape before they are placed in the Home. Staff should support and encourage such young people to reduce or stop vaping. 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 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).

2. Alcohol

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. If a child has been under the influence, it needs adding to the child's individual risk assessment. No physical force should be used to take a substance off the child. Staff should contact the police if the child refuses to leave the premises with the substance.

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 affected 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).

Further Information

Useful Websites

Smokefree - NHS

Electronic Cigarettes - NHS

Drinkaware - NHS