OurFutures AOD education boost across Limestone Coast schools

Limestone Coast secondary school children are now receiving vital alcohol and other drug (AOD) education after a strong uptake in local schools taking on OurFutures AOD education modules.

Substance Misuse Limestone Coast (SMLC) has been strongly advocating that schools deliver evidence-based AOD education for all local students since the organisation’s inception more than a decade ago.

All 13 Limestone Coast secondary schools have registered for the OurFutures program, which include age-appropriate modules on vaping prevention, drugs, alcohol and mental health.

SMLC Project Manager Sophie Bourchier said AOD education is crucially important, particularly for secondary school age students in the region, as there are no youth specific drug and alcohol services.

“The right education delays the uptake of alcohol and other drug use, which reduces harm, protects their developing brains and builds lifelong decision-making skills,” Ms Bourchier said.

“The modules are evidence-based and have years of clinical research to back up the evidence to show they work, and most importantly, students find them engaging and relevant.

“It’s absolutely crucial to deliver timely AOD education at a time when students are vulnerable to harms of trying new things.”

Across Australia, more than 1,290 schools have registered for the vaping prevention module, of which the researchers behind the module have recently been awarded a 2026 Eureka Prize for Societal Impact in Science.

Ms Bourchier said the Vaping Prevention module was the most popular, with vaping and e-cigarettes a chief concern for parents of young people in the Limestone Coast.

“When you talk about alcohol and other drugs, most of the general population think about methamphetamine and the ‘alcoholic’ in the gutter,” Ms Bourchier said.

“It’s important for everyone to realise that vaping is nicotine in an aerosol form, with a whole heap of other nasty chemicals and vaping leads to experimentation with other substances, including alcohol and other drugs.

Evidence shows the programs result in delayed uptake of AOD by students and some modules result in positive effects into early adulthood.

Ms Bourchier said the modules, with their interactive elements engaging young people, were a world away from the Alcohol and Drug Education of old that used to feature in classrooms.

“Drug education used to be a local cop standing in the middle of a classroom shaking their fingers and saying ‘don’t take drugs kids’. That approach just doesn’t work.

“Relevant and engaging AOD education is extremely important – the longer young people delay the uptake of AOD experiences, the better health and life outcomes they will have.”