Northland DHB medical officer of health Dr Catherine Jackson says sharing vapes can spread viruses.
As vaping becomes more and more popular so do the risks posed and a new battle for schools. In the third of a four-part series, Jodi Bryant finds out what the concerns are around sharing devices.
The popularity of vaping at secondary schools along with students' practice of sharing the
devices has been linked to the spread of a bacterial infection amid concern over Covid-19 awareness.
Principals spoken to by the Northern Advocate have pointed to vapes as a possible reason for an increase in strep throat, a contagious infection caused by the bacteria streptococcus.
Whangārei Boys' High School principal Karen Gilbert-Smith said she was concerned about the spreading of germs through sharing vapes with strep throat running rife at the moment.
"Since when did the sharing of spit become okay in the current climate? It's not one person using one vape, it's one person sharing so the flu goes rife and it seems the boys have forgotten about last year's Covid."
She said strep throat had gone "gangbusters" over recent weeks.
At Otamatea High School south of Whangārei, acting principal Dirk Smyth said it was suspected strep throat was prevalent among students.
"We are seeing a lot of illness at the moment [among staff and students]. It is most likely just the time of year, but most of those who are sick at the moment do have sore throats."
Smyth, who had told the Northern Advocate teachers were monitoring toilet breaks as a means of interfering with student vape use, said the parent community had linked the illness to strep throat.
Kamo High School principal Natasha Hemara said vaping had emerged as a problem at the school this year.
She said it was treated as a health concern, with students "100 per cent" sharing vapes.
"By the time they are approached, the vapes disappear and have gone in the pocket because they're so tiny. They pass hands extremely quickly. So we've said, 'if you're in a group, then we will deal with it as a group'."
Northland DHB medical officer of health Dr Catherine Jackson said viruses such as colds, flu, herpes and Covid-19 could be spread by saliva, as could bacterial infections like meningococcal disease, strep throat and staph infections.
"Viruses and bacteria found in saliva can pass from person to person when sharing vapes, cigarettes, pipes, and water bottles or other drinks.
"Researchers in the US have found that young people who vape are five times more likely to be diagnosed with Covid-19 than those who don't.
"You can lower your risk of infection by not sharing vapes and cigarettes."
The principals the Northern Advocate spoke to have stated their concern over the escalating number of students vaping, with Smyth saying last month that staff knew of at least 20 across years 7-13, particularly year 10 at the 480-student school. He said (as at mid-June) there had been 26 incidents – about two a week – so far this year where students had been caught vaping or with vaping devices.
Gilbert-Smith said about 10-15 boys were caught vaping a week, but it was a hard habit to catch in the act with the evolution of vaping devices and technology producing smaller, odourless and invisible vapour.
Teen vaper speaks:
"My name is Grace, and I'm 17 at the moment about to turn 18 in September. I started vaping about a year and a half ago, possibly two years. I've grown up with people around me my whole life who have been smokers/vapers. My mother has been a smoker since she was 16 or 17 and is now 47 and has just decided to move from smoking to vaping. I have two sisters who both vape. One used it to quit smoking and the other was from social vaping. She was always around her friends who vaped and would offer her a vape, and she decided, rather than using other people's she'd get her own. The addiction kind of grew from there as she'd always have it on her and around her.
When I started vaping I would say that my situation was quite the same. I was around a lot of friends who would vape and offer, and the mindset I had was 'What's one hit gonna do?' And the thing is, it was never peer pressure or anything, but being at this age, you want to look cool around people, especially your friends.
Having the mindset of all of that definitely was a big influence on why I really did get into vaping. I'm a person who feels guilty of using other peoples' things, so that's when I decided to get my own vape. Once I got it, it went from having a couple hits every few days or so, to constantly vaping day in and day out. The bad thing is, I was in denial about being addicted. Anyone who would tell me, 'Oh, you're definitely addicted', I'd get mad at because I didn't believe any of that.
Vaping definitely made my moods change a lot. I'd get grumpy for no reason, or a small thing would trigger me. I'd cry because of that frustration and, after a while, vaping was kind of a coping mechanism with stress, emotions, any kind of bad thing that came my way, vaping was the way to calm me down.
I was relying on it so much and, to be honest, I still do. Vaping has definitely caused a lot of disappointment towards me from family and friends (who didn't vape) since starting at a much younger age than any of my other family has. Which, of course, didn't help my emotional state. I definitely realised it's made my body physically struggle more. It makes me tired very quickly, made my sports that I played 20x more difficult, some days I get nausea through the whole day and just feel so sick. I always felt guilty doing this to my own body and for making my family disappointed, but I know giving up vaping right now isn't an option. Like I said, it's a coping mechanism.
I do think vaping has caused a lot of negative impacts in my life with a lot more than just my body or my lungs, but the one thing that I realised when I started is that I need to be happy. And I wasn't in a good place at all when I did start but, if this is a step that's going to lead me to a path of happiness where I can eventually quit vaping and be happy without it, then I'll ride that path until the next step comes along."
Initial construction work on the next section is set to begin by the end of next year.