Some schools were now dealing with students vaping on a regular basis. Photo / Bevan Conley
Some schools were now dealing with students vaping on a regular basis. Photo / Bevan Conley
Bay of Plenty principals are calling for more nationwide messaging to discourage students from vaping, as the number of school students taking up the habit rises.
"Having vaping arrive through the backdoor under the guise of a less harmful substitution for cigarettes has now exposed a large number of young people, who would never smoke cigarettes, to nicotine addiction."
Initially, the school adopted an educative approach to try and prevent the problem - working with students and families to change behaviour.
But Sinton said as incidents increased around the middle of last year they decided to also take a more punitive approach.
This included withdrawing students involved from classes and contacting their parents, through to stand-downs. Repeat offenders took part in suspension meetings with the Board of Trustees.
This has "certainly reduced" instances of repeat behaviour from individuals, Sinton said.
Vaping was a "social issue" that went beyond the school gates, and Sinton questioned the motives behind the vape products being marketed through devices and flavours that were appealing to youth.
"If the argument supporting vaping is to help long-time cigarette users to quit then it should be treated like other forms of addiction medication and be prescribed."
The number of students vaping at John Paul College in Rotorua had "substantially increased" over the past year, particularly among junior students.
Principal Patrick Walsh believed this increase coincided with greater marketing of vape products targeting young people, and higher levels of anxiety among students.
"The people who own the vape shops are making them colourful, attractive, bright and cool for young people," he said.
"There is just a general level of anxiety amongst young people - sometimes they turn to things like vaping in the false hope that will help their anxiety."
Staff at the Rotorua secondary school believed it was becoming an "epidemic" and were trying to educate students on the long-term health impacts.
John Paul College principal Patrick Walsh. Photo / Ben Fraser
"We are very concerned that we have worked for many decades to get rid of smoking amongst young people in schools, and that is being replaced by vaping."
A local organisation had conducted talks with each year-level about the direct effects vaping had on the body, he said.
Walsh said increased messaging discouraging students from the practice was greatly needed in New Zealand.
"The Government has a small window of opportunity here. If they don't take this really seriously and try to nip this in the bud, we are going to see another generation of young people hooked on vaping with nicotine in it.
"Because already, students are advising that they are addicted to vaping."
He said some students would go to the toilet blocks to vape.
"It is a tension for a lot of schools. They are generally going to the toilets to vape because they know that's an area that staff can't go in. It is a private area. They are devices which are easily hidden."
Rotorua Lakes High School principal Jon Ward. Photo / Ben Fraser
Another Rotorua principal believes a nationwide campaign was needed to discourage the practice among young people.
Rotorua Lakes High School principal Jon Ward said there needed to be clear messaging from the Government that vaping was not healthy for young people.
"It is being left up to the schools at the coalface to try to get that message across. We could do with a national campaign against the sort of advertising that is going on," he said.
Tauranga Intermediate principal Cameron Mitchell was aware the behaviour was becoming more prevalent in secondary schools. But vaping was not a major problem among students at the intermediate school, he said.
"It is something we need to get on top of as a community."
Mount Maunganui Intermediate principal Melissa Nelson was in a similar situation.
"We have had very few incidents of vapes coming into school or vaping at school."
However, she believed it was a problem outside of school, among students in the Year 7 and Year 8 age group.
Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ chief executive Letitia Harding told the NZ Herald she was hearing from more schools trying to address vaping among students.
Most vapes contained nicotine, which could not only lead to addiction but harmed brain development in adolescents, affected concentration and increased anxiety, she said.
Aside from nicotine, vapes contained chemicals that affected lung and heart health, and epithelial cell development.
Ministry of Education acting deputy secretary sector enablement and support David Wales said educating youth about the benefits of a smoke-free and vape-free lifestyle was essential.
Classroom education was supported by the Ministry of Health, the Health Promotion Agency and Smokefree NZ, which have a wide range of resources available.
A Ministry of Health spokesperson said non-smokers and young people should not start vaping, as it was not without risks and the long-term effects were unknown.
The ministry considered vaping products to have the potential to make a contribution to the Smokefree 2025 goal and could disrupt the significant inequities that were present.
"The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act 1990 seeks to strike a balance between ensuring vaping products are available for smokers who want to switch to a less harmful alternative and ensuring these products aren't marketed or sold to young people."
