BRITAIN'S DEADLIEST ADDICTIONS

PROGRAMME 1: DAY 1 AT THE CLINIC

ACTIVITIES

Guidance

This programme will introduce the concept of addiction by showing three case studies. It could be shown at any time during Year 11 or post-16 education. Alongside the programme students could:

• Be told about relevant helplines and websites
• Be reminded about any work they have covered on drug or alcohol dependency in previous years
• Have a talk or workshop delivered by the 'school nurse' or other local health expert
• Conduct a survey of people's attitudes to addiction and substance misuse.

It will be more effective to watch the whole of Programme 1, rather than just clips, so that students learn all the facts and background information about the three people in the series. After this, selected clips from other programmes can be used. It is a good idea to show the end of Programme 5, so that students can see what happens to Vanessa, Tony and Sandie after they have left the clinic.

Download activity sheet for Programme 1 [Word doc, 50KB]

Before viewing

Activity for small groups or pairs (included in the downloadable activity sheet):

Brainstorm the term 'addiction'. Write a sentence to explain to a younger person what the word means.

You may have heard of the Priory Clinic in London where lots of celebrities go for help with addictions. People go there with addictions to all sorts of things, not just drugs. Think of as many things as you can that someone could be addicted to.

After/during viewing

Some or all of the following activities relate to specific clips from the programme. We regret that we cannot make these clips available on the website. Teachers and other users can access the programmes free of charge from the Channel 4 video on demand service, 4oD (PC only), or the programmes may be taped off air for use in the classroom (see TV listings for the current term's schedule). Please note that the clip times will vary on different viewing platforms and devices.

Activities linked to clips

Meet the addicts!
Clip 1: 01.23 – 04.10

• Opens with Krishnan saying, 'Tony is addicted to alcohol.'
• Closes with Vanessa saying, 'I want to have a family, so I can't do that if I am addicted to drugs or alcohol – it's just a no.'

Complete the question sheet (included in the downloadable activity sheet) in pairs. Questions repeated below:

Having seen the introduction to the three people with addiction problems, with a partner answer the following questions for Sandie, Tony and Vanessa:

• What are they addicted to?
• Why might they have become an addict?
• How is the addiction affecting their lives?

Focus on Tony
Clip 2: 18.20 – 21.39

• Opens with Krishnan saying, 'Later that evening, Tony's wife Dandra joins me in the studio.'
• Closes with Dr Vincenti saying, '…and family relations are in meltdown, really.'

Complete the question sheet (included in the downloadable activity sheet) in pairs. Questions repeated below:

• What kind of drink would make up one unit of alcohol?
• What kind of drink could make up two units of alcohol?
• What is the acceptable amount of units per week for a man?
• What is the acceptable amount of units per week for a woman?
• How many units per week is Tony drinking? How many times is this over the accepted amount?
• What are the personal effects of drinking to this extent? Answer in terms of social effects, physical health effects and mental health effects.