Approved by the Governing Board the program for the prevention of individual addictive behaviors in schools

The councilman-secretary of the Local Government Board of the City Council of Torrevieja, Federico Alarcón, has informed today of the approval of a minor contract, worth 14,995 euros, to carry out the Individual Behavior Prevention Program in School Centers.

Federico Alarcón has indicated that this school prevention program will be made up of five modules:

1. New technologies: where the importance of making a moderate use of the RRSS will be emphasized, as well as warning of the dangers that an irresponsible use entails.

2. Gambling: where the new threats that are opening up in the Online Game will be delved into, while information will be given on how the game works and the biases that exist around the possibility of winning in the long term will be dismantled.

3. Cannabis: This substance is responsible for demotivation, various mental disorders and the cause of school failure for many young people in Spain. The risk of its consumption will be alerted and how it works at the brain level will be specified.

4. Alcohol and Tobacco: Two substances associated with a social context, apparently without any significance in addictions; but, nevertheless, protagonists in them. They are the springboard for other substances and their excessive consumption endangers the integrity of adolescents. An exhaustive analysis of its mechanisms and operation will be made.

5. Cinema and values: Two sessions: pre-viewing and post-viewing. In the first session, the film that the students will watch during the tutoring hour will be presented, taking the opportunity to introduce values and concepts that they will be able to see in it. In the second session it will be discussed

the film and the students will carry out activities related to the values that they have been able to learn in it.

Likewise, the program will be carried out in all primary and secondary schools in the city of Torrevieja. It will be structured in the 2022/2023 academic year, beginning in September and ending before June. The sessions will be implemented during the tutoring hour of the centers, in which each of the subjects will be deepened through interactive talks, accompanied by powerpoint presentations.

The composition of the program and its structure is as follows:

5th year of primary school: Cinema and values

6th grade of primary school: New technologies

·1st year of ESO: New technologies

2nd year of ESO: Tobacco and Alcohol

3rd year of ESO: Cannabis

4th year of ESO: Gambling

1st year of Basic Vocational Training: Cannabis

2nd year of Basic Vocational Training: Gambling

·1st year of Baccalaureate: New technologies

2nd year of Baccalaureate: Cannabis

Finally, it should be noted that the general objective of the program is to delay the age of initiation of drug use, as well as reduce consumption in those who have already started, while the specific objectives are:

-Inform about the nature of the drugs most present in their environment and the risks associated with their consumption, improving the perception of risk and promoting attitudes of disinterest towards their consumption.

-Promote critical thinking.

-Improve communication skills.

-Promote personal autonomy in relationships with others, developing decision-making skills.

-Facilitate knowledge of social influences on behaviors related to health and favor the formation of values.