With the 2025-26 academic year well underway, students will (hopefully) be feeling settled into their new routines. Anything different can present fresh challenges, and one that is ever present is the potential for exposure to drugs – so it is sensible to have an awareness of what substances are around and what issues may be emerging.
Working at a drug education charity, this is an area we keep a close eye on. Before we deliver workshops to students, we invite them to submit questions or complete a survey, and ahead of staff training sessions, we ask teachers and other professionals what topics they want covered and what they see as the issues they need to tackle. There is a lot that stays the same – a desire to know more about the effects, risks and legal status of various drugs, as well as insight into motivations for use, for example – but we also get a sense of what is creeping into teenagers’ lives.
Nicotine pouches are something we noticed more young people mentioning during the 2023-24 academic year, so in 2024-25 we asked about these products more specifically. It became apparent that who responded to our pre-workshop survey considered them to be prevalent amongst their age group, with only alcohol, vaping, cigarettes and cannabis regarded as more common. It is perhaps unsurprising, given that nicotine pouches – often referred to (incorrectly) as snus – are legal, even for under 18s, though this is set to change under the impending . They are widely advertised as smoke- and tobacco-free, can appear attractive due to the wide range of brands, flavours and sleek packaging, and are fraught with problems, including being highly addictive as a result of the often very high nicotine content – and that addiction potential is higher during adolescence when the brain is undergoing a significant process of change. More information can be found .
Non-nicotine vapes – and this refers to devices containing other drugs, and not those that are nicotine-free – also seem to be on the rise. Many of them claim to contain cannabis or THC (the psychoactive chemical that gives rise to the effects of cannabis), and certainly some of them do, but what is an alarming trend is the number that contain ‘Spice’ – revealed that 13 per cent of nearly 2,000 vapes confiscated in 114 schools in England contained this drug. The reason for this is predominantly price – Spice is cheaper to produce than cannabis or THC – but also availability, with the synthetic cannabinoid more likely to be in the reusables that are much more commonly used by young people since the came into force in June. Spice is a highly potent and addictive drug, and hence dangerous to young people who not only are unlikely to have encountered it before, but may well not know it is what they are using.
(A free of charge staff training resource on this exact topic, comprising a 15-minute video and a downloadable poster to aid identification, can be downloaded )
Ketamine is rarely out of , and the harms it can cause are becoming well documented: vulnerability to injury and assault, debilitating stomach cramps, kidney and bladder damage… and it can be fatal. What may be billed as a brief (and sometimes cheap) escape from reality is, in truth, a dangerous drug that users can quickly become tolerant to – meaning they need to use more to get the same effects – and dependent on. So high are the concerns that the government is seeking on whether ketamine should become a Class A drug, as this would not only signal the high level of harm linked to its use, but also increase the associated .
This can all sound very doom and gloom, but it is important to retain a sense of perspective: while some young people do use drugs and put themselves (and potentially) others at risk, . Just as it is vital to stay alert to the changing world teenagers find themselves trying to navigate, it is crucial to highlight the reality that most people their age choose not to take drugs; this can help them lean into the sense of discomfort they may well feel about engaging in such behaviours, particularly when they experience pressure to do so. And teaching these social norms should form part of an evidence-based, non-judgmental approach to drug education that not only feels relatable to the situations they find themselves in, but equips them with up-to-date knowledge and skills so they can make more informed and safer decisions – to help themselves and support their friends.
Asha Fowells is head of education and engagement at drug education charity the .