There is currently a clear consensus in Australia, reflected in a range of national and state policies and strategies, that education about volatile substance use (VSU) should not be part of mainstream school drug education. The rationale for this approach is that educating young people about cheap, legal, easily accessible volatile substances, of which they may have little current knowledge, risks sparking interest in their use and could lead to experimentation.

In 2006, the Western Australian Taskforce on Butane Misuse in their investigation of the prevalence of butane misuse, carefully considered whether the current approach to VSU education in WA was consistent with the extent of VSU and young people’s level of knowledge and awareness. The Taskforce concluded that any adjustment to such an approach needed to be tempered by the considerable proportion of young people who remain naïve about the issue and the risk of exposing them to increased potential for misuse and harm.

Therefore, the Taskforce recommended that education about VSU in schools should occur when groups of students are at-risk by virtue of a local outbreak or ‘fad’, or by widespread knowledge and discussion of the issue by young people. In these cases, education around VSU should be through a targeted approach. Where this is not required, generic drug-related education that emphasises these products as poisons and hazardous chemicals is recommended.

In the United Kingdom and the United States, VSU is included in the general drug education curriculum. However, it is acknowledged that education in relation to VSU must be delivered in a sensitive manner, taking care not to provide too much information, specifically relating to details of products.

As access to social media becomes more widespread, knowledge of VSU among young people is becoming more likely. More research is needed to ascertain the extent of knowledge among young people, to establish whether the current Australian school policy of excluding VSU education from mainstream drug education should be reconsidered.

Education in WA

In Western Australia, education for young people about volatile substance use (VSU) is currently provided via School Drug Education and Road Aware (SDERA). SDERA's range of evidence-based drug education resources for schools and early childhood services can be used to deliver age-appropriate content and key resilience, health and safety messages.

The Challenges and Choices resources are classroom-ready and ensure that school staff are providing a resilience approach to alcohol and other drug education as developmentally appropriate across the year levels. They also allow staff to meet the required social and emotional educational requirements of the Western Australian Curriculum for Health and Physical Education.

These resources recommend that information about VSU should not form part of the general drug education curriculum. Education on VSU is introduced via the resilience-building early childhood education materials in the context of medicines, hazardous substances and poisons rather than mainstream drug education. This is to avoid informing young people of volatile substances as a drug of intoxication and also to de-glamourise the behaviour.

Where a specific need is identified, a targeted approach undertaken by skilled personnel should be implemented. The intervention would be provided to those currently using volatile substances and those assessed as being at risk of using. It should also be provided outside the classroom environment. Schools should seek support for the provision of any targeted intervention from their locally based Community Alcohol and Drug Service (CADS). Details can be provided through SDERA Consultants or found on the Mental Health Commission website.

A classroom response may be appropriate where prevalence of VSU is high or where there is widespread use. The decision about whether to include VSU in the curriculum should be targeted to suit the local situation.

Any education delivered to students around this issue should be offered alongside appropriate school-based intervention support. the Department of Education has a range of support materials and professional development options available for school staff on their Education Resources website, see: Address volatile substance use in school communities. The resources provide information about VSU and will assist staff to respond appropriately when concerns exist about the use of volatile substances by students in the school community. 

Information provided will assist staff to:

• develop greater understanding of what volatile substances are and the types of products in which they are found
• increase knowledge around VSU and the potential impacts of use
• understand best practice for provision of education and support to students in relation to VSU
• gain knowledge of how to reduce the risks of harm to students who are using volatile substances
• understand the need for a targeted approach to support students who use or are at risk of using volatile substances and the processes to follow to ensure appropriate responses and targeted support provision to these students
• be clear on what makes a whole-of-community response to VSU, the benefits of this and how schools can contribute
• know where and how to access specialist external support when VSU is suspected or occurring in school communities.

Contacts and support

Schools should be encouraged to actively participate with SDERA and to engage with other stakeholders in a whole-of community approach, where appropriate and when there is incidence of VSU in the local area. This whole-of-community approach may include groups such as retailers, CADS, police, youth groups and other specialist agencies.

SDERA can provide support for schools and the wider community as well as best-practice resilience, drug and road safety education. Community-based stakeholders can link to schools through their local SDERA consultant. For contact details of the consultant in your area, see the SDERA contact page.