Community News
Vaping Webinar with School Nurse
St Albans Secondary College, like many other schools, has seen a recent spike in young people vaping.
The biggest misunderstanding about vaping is that it is harmless compared to cigarette smoking. However, this is not true, and e-cigarettes are not considered safe.
E-cigarettes, or ‘vapes’, come in many shapes and sizes and can be hard to spot as they can look like everyday items including highlighters, pens or USB memory sticks.
Key vaping facts:
- Many vapes contain nicotine, even if labelled ‘nicotine-free’. The nicotine in one vape can equal 50 cigarettes. Nicotine can cause long-lasting negative effects on young people’s brain development, including impaired learning ability and altered mood, and can increase the risk of depression and anxiety.
- Vapes can contain the same harmful chemicals found in cleaning products, nail polish remover, weed killer and bug spray, which can lead to serious lung diseases.
The laws around selling vapes:
It is illegal to sell vapes to anyone under the age of 18 years. Young people often purchase vapes online, from retail stores, or from friends and contacts on social media. If you are aware of any retail stores illegally selling e-cigarettes to anyone under the age of 18, please inform the council.
Talk to your child about vaping:
It’s important to take the time to talk to your child about the risks of vaping, regardless of whether you suspect they are vaping or not. Start the conversation in a relaxed easy-going way, perhaps taking cues from TV stories about vaping, in the car or when seeing someone vape in the street. Ask what they know about vaping and clear up any misconceptions they may have. When discussing the risks of vaping, try to understand and address the different factors that might motivate them to vape such as peer pressure or stress.
For more information, all parents and staff are welcome to attend a webinar hosted by St Albans Health Promotion Nurse, Nadia, on Thursday April 28th 5:30pm (Week1,Term 2). The link to the webinar will be posted on Compass closer to the date.
To attend, please register in the link below:
https://forms.gle/Ta3ixSGfGFQ92tyR7
Your Say Day – Sydenham Library
Footscray Lacrosse Club – Recruiting
Get Active Vouchers
The Get Active Kids Voucher Program helps eligible families get their kids involved in organised sport and recreation activities by reimbursing the cost of membership and registration fees, uniforms and equipment. Eligible children may be able to receive up to $200 each. This round closes 9th July.
Children must be aged 0 to 18 and named on a valid and issued Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card and Medicare card to be eligible.
For more information visit getactive.vic.gov.au
St Albans Football Club – Recruiting
The St Albans Football Club is a proud community football club located in the Western Suburbs of Melbourne and based at Errington Reserve St Albans and Kings Park Reserve, Gillespie Road St Albans.
In addition to its core football roots, St Albans Football Club presents an open accessible face, welcoming members and guests into its sporting and social programs from the broad spectrum of cultures within its melting pot suburb.
Our “Vision” is to be the sporting club of choice for our community, encouraging all to participate with no barriers to entry and success.
Albion Football Club – Recruiting
