Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug Prevention
Domain 6 tests substance-specific knowledge, risk and protective factors, prevention strategies, and appropriate referral and harm-reduction language.
Core rules
- Substance use disorder involves impaired control, social impairment, risky use, and pharmacological indicators; it is not a moral failing.
- Nicotine is highly addictive. E-cigarettes are not harmless; they contain nicotine and other chemicals. Cannabis can impair memory, coordination, and driving.
- Alcohol is a depressant. Binge drinking is a pattern that raises acute risk. Opioids include prescription pain relievers, heroin, and illicit fentanyl; naloxone can reverse opioid overdose.
- Prevention works on individuals and environments: life skills, refusal skills, media literacy, family engagement, enforcement, and access restrictions.
Worked example
A school sees rising vaping. A single assembly is unlikely to work. The plan combines a skills-based unit, peer norms data, parent communication, cessation referral, and enforcement of sales to minors. The reasoning addresses behavior, norms, and access simultaneously.
Traps
Do not call vaping safe or harmless. Do not treat the “gateway” idea as deterministic. Do not present harm reduction as endorsement. Do not rely on scare tactics or abstinence-only messages without skills. Do not disclose student substance use unnecessarily; follow referral policy.