D. Healthy Living · Healthy Living

My Choice: Decisions About Alcohol, Tobacco, Cannabis and Vaping

D2.4 A1.6 A1.4 A1.5About 45 minutes

Learning goals

I can explain factors that influence decisions about drug use, such as values, peers, media, curiosity, laws, and cultural, religious and spiritual teachings.
I can use a decision-making process to make safe choices about alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and vaping, including the choice not to use them.
I can use refusal skills confidently.

Words to know

drug
A substance (other than food) that changes how the body or mind works. Medicines, alcohol, nicotine and cannabis are all drugs.

abstain
To choose not to use something at all.

nicotine
A highly addictive drug found in tobacco and in most vapes.

vaping
Breathing in an aerosol (a mist) from an electronic device. Vapes usually contain nicotine and flavourings.

personal values
The beliefs and ideas that are most important to you and guide your choices.

peer pressure
When people your age try to get you to do something, either openly or by just making it seem like "everyone's doing it."

You're the decision-maker

At some point, someone may offer you a vape, a drink, or something else. It might be a stranger, but more often it's someone you know: an older cousin, a friend, a teammate. Having your decision made before that moment makes it much easier. Today you'll look at what influences decisions about drugs, and practise making and sticking with your choice.

Remember from Grade 5

You learned refusal skills (broken record, blame it on someone, reverse the pressure, make an excuse, suggest something else, leave and tell an adult) and the decision-making steps. This year you'll use them for alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and vaping, and think about how your values guide you.

Factor	How it can influence a decision
Personal values	"Being healthy and fit matters to me." "I want to keep my family's trust."
Peer pressure	Friends who use, or who don't; wanting to fit in; worrying about being teased
Media influence	Videos, shows, music and influencers that make vaping or drinking look fun, cool or grown-up; flavours and colourful vape designs
Curiosity	Wondering what it feels like
Legal restrictions	In Ontario you must be 19 to buy alcohol, cannabis, tobacco or vaping products
Cultural, religious and spiritual teachings	Many faiths teach people not to use alcohol or other drugs. In many First Nations communities, traditional or sacred tobacco is used in ceremonies and offerings, which is very different from smoking commercial tobacco like cigarettes.

Factors that influence decisions about drug use.

Vaping: what to know

Most vapes contain nicotine, which is highly addictive. Young people can become dependent quickly.
Vapes can also contain other chemicals. Vaping can irritate the throat and lungs and cause coughing, headaches and nausea.
Flavours and bright designs can make vapes seem harmless. They are not made for kids.
In Ontario it's illegal to sell or give vaping products to anyone under 19.

Medicine safety

Medicines are drugs too. Only take medicine that a parent, guardian, doctor or pharmacist gives you, in the right amount. Never take a pill from a friend or one you find. Some pills sold illegally look real but can contain dangerous drugs.

The decision-making process

Stop and identify the decision. What's happening?
List options. (Abstaining is always an option!)
Think it through: for each option, what are the consequences for my health, safety, relationships, goals, the law, and my values?
Decide and act using clear, assertive words.
Reflect: how did it go? What would I do next time?

You can make some decisions ahead of time: "I'm not going to vape. Period."

The decision-making process in five steps. You can also make the decision ahead of time, so the moment itself is easier.

Worked example

Let's use the decision-making process

At a sleepover, an older sister's friend offers Liam and his friends a fruit-flavoured vape. "It's just flavour, everyone does it."

Stop and identify: I'm being offered a vape. The claim "just flavour" might not be true: most vapes contain nicotine.
List options: take it; say no; say no and suggest something else; leave and call a parent.
Think it through: Taking it could start a nicotine addiction, irritate my lungs, hurt my hockey, break my family's trust, and it's illegal to give to me. Saying no keeps me healthy and true to my values.
Decide and act: "No thanks, I've got hockey tomorrow." If they keep pushing: "I said no." Then: "Let's go play video games."
Reflect: "That was awkward but easier than I thought. Next time I'll say no faster."

Liam abstained. He used a reason, the broken record, and suggested something else.

Worked example

Let's spot the influences

Ava sees a video of a famous influencer laughing with a drink in her hand at a party, with the caption "best night ever!" Ava thinks, "Drinking must make parties fun."

Which factor? Media influence.
What's missing from the video? Hangovers, sickness, injuries, regret, cost, the fact that the influencer may be paid to promote the drink, and that she is an adult.
What do Ava's values say? If she values health and having fun with friends, she can have fun without alcohol.
Critical thinking question: "Who made this, and why?"

Media shows a small, edited slice of life. Asking what's missing helps you decide for yourself.

Media shows a small, edited slice of life (the inner frame). Everything outside the frame is real too, but it was left out.

Hands-on activity

My values and my lines

You need: paper and a pencil.

Write five values that are important to you (for example: health, family, sports, faith, being trustworthy, doing well in school).
For each, write how vaping, alcohol or other drugs could affect it.
Write your "line": a sentence you've decided ahead of time, such as "I don't vape."
Write three refusal lines you'd actually say.
Practise them out loud with a grown-up who plays the person offering. They should push a little: "Come on, just once!"
Agree on a code word you can text your family if you need to be picked up, no questions asked.

What to look for: clear values, real-sounding refusal lines, and staying firm when pushed.

Your turn

Name four factors that influence decisions about drug use.

What does abstain mean?

What addictive drug is in most vapes?

How old must you be to buy alcohol, cannabis, tobacco or vapes in Ontario?

List the five steps of the decision-making process.

Give two refusal lines you could use if offered a vape.

Who should give you medicine?

More practice: warm-up

True or false: abstaining is always an option.

True or false: flavoured vapes are harmless.

Should you take a pill a friend gives you?

What kind of factor is "wondering what it feels like"?

What kind of factor is "my team captain doesn't drink, and I look up to her"?

More practice: on your own

Explain the difference between traditional (sacred) tobacco and commercial tobacco.

Why does making a decision ahead of time help?

How can a positive peer influence help someone abstain?

A friend says, "Just try it once." Why might "once" still be risky?

Name two things a media ad for a vape or drink usually leaves out.

Challenge

Your best friend has started vaping and wants you to try. You want to stay friends. Use the decision-making process and describe what you'd say and do.

Explain how two factors could work together to push someone toward drinking alcohol at 13, and how two other factors could protect them.

Why do laws set a minimum age of 19 for alcohol, cannabis, tobacco and vaping products?

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which of these is always an option when someone offers you a drug?

Most vapes contain...

A video makes drinking look fun. This is...

The first step in the decision-making process is...

In many First Nations communities, traditional tobacco is used...

Who should give you medicine?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: This lesson covers the Grade 6 expectation to use decision-making strategies and skills and an understanding of factors influencing drug use (e.g., personal values, peer pressure, media influence, curiosity, legal restrictions, cultural, religious and spiritual teachings) to make safe personal choices about the use of drugs such as alcohol, tobacco and cannabis, and about activities such as vaping, including the choice to abstain (D2.4). It builds critical thinking (A1.6), relationship skills (A1.4) and identity (A1.5).

How to help at home:

Talk about your family's values and rules about alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and vaping.
Set up a code word your child can text to be picked up, no questions asked.
Store alcohol, cannabis and medicines safely.
Watch an ad or video together and ask, "What's missing?"

Common difficulties: thinking vapes are "just flavour"; finding it hard to say no to friends (practise!). The lesson presents traditional tobacco respectfully as distinct from commercial tobacco; if your family has Indigenous teachings about tobacco, share them.