The National Wellness Centre says it is commonly addressing depression, bullying and suicide cases in the school system but it is also struggling to deal with tobacco, marijuana and glue sniffing cases.
144 students were smoking in school last year while there were 26 cases of students smoking or found with marijuana.
There were 30 cases of glue sniffing.
The Director of the National Wellness Centre, Doctor Isimeli Tukana says they are doing their best to ensure that all Fijians especially school students make informed choices.
Kava drinking is also a growing trend among school students but while the number of students actively drinking kava is small, the National Wellness Centre is still heavily concerned about its impact on the health of students and their academic performance.
A report by the National Substance Abuse and Advisory Council revealed that 171 primary and secondary school students were drinking kava in schools last year.
Doctor Tukana says urging Fijians to drink kava responsibly is also a growing challenge.
According to statistics by the Health Ministry, around 6,000 people who die every year in Fiji, around 5,000 die because of Non Communicable Diseases mainly heart attacks and strokes.
People are also dying at a very young age as 200 people die at the age of 40 while around 400 die at the age of 45 every year mainly because of NCD’s.
