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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 11 Hansard (10 December) . . Page.. 3559 ..

APPENDIX 2: Incorporated in Hansard on 8 December 1998 at page 3221

MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND COMMUNITY CARE

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY QUESTION TAKEN ON NOTICE

25 NOVEMBER 1998

Mr Osborne asked the Minister for Health:

In relation to drug education, what programs are currently running in the ACT? How much money is being spent on programs with an emphasis on encouraging people not to smoke? Can the Minister give an idea of the success rate of these programs over the years? Are there any figures?

My answer is as follows:

In relation to drug education, what programs are currently running in the ACT?

1. All ACT schools must attend to drug education within the Health and Physical Education framework established by the Department of Education and Community Services. ACT schools have relative autonomy over the specifics of curriculum development around drug education. Curriculum development is supported by annual professional development offered to teachers in ACT primary, secondary and college level schools and the Department of Education and Community Services acts as a central resource to assist teachers with selection of resources and policy/protocol development.

The National Initiatives in Drug Education project (NIDE), initiated by the then Commonwealth Department of Health and Family Services, has also provided schools with research and up to date resources on drug education.

The Department of Health ad Community Care has been involved in an interdepartmental Drug Education Framework Committee run by the Department of Education and Community Services. The Drug Education Framework aims to provide direction for schools to develop their own drug education strategy including the development of protocols on drug incidents in schools. The Framework is nearing completion and is due to be launched early in 1999.

Most non-Government alcohol and drug services in the ACT have an education component to their service, targeted at their particular interest group. In addition, the ACT Government alcohol and drug program conducts ongoing drug education, primarily through its health promotion unit.

2. How much money is being spent on programs with an emphasis on encouraging people not to smoke?

Education on smoking is typically implemented as part of a broader drug education curriculum and it is therefore difficult to provide a monetary breakdown on the smoking component.

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