Some schools were now dealing with students vaping on a regular basis. Photo / File A_210717WCBRCVap01
Some schools were now dealing with students vaping on a regular basis. Photo / File A_210717WCBRCVap01
Bay of Plenty principals are calling for more nationwide messaging discouraging students from vaping, as the number of school students taking up the habit is increasing.
"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".
The number of students vaping at John Paul College in Rotorua had also
John Paul College principal Patrick Walsh. Photo / File
"substantially increased" over the past year, particularly among junior students including year eights.
Principal Patrick Walsh believed this increase coincided with more 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 / File
"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 health vaping effects 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 / File
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 coal face 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.
Rotorua Girls' High School principal Sarah Davis said they treated vaping and smoking exactly the same when disciplining students.
In situations where students were caught vaping, Davis said the devices were confiscated and had to be collected by parents.
Rotorua Girls' High School principal Sarah Davis. Photo / File
"For us it is a continual frustration that there is a belief that vaping is not as bad as smoking, so therefore more acceptable.
We consider vaping and smoking as exactly the same through our discipline system, there no difference in consequences."
More research needed to be conducted around the health impacts of vaping, and Davis was eager to see more educational resources provided to schools.
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 which 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 who have a wide range of resources available to help raise awareness about the risks of vaping.
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."
Provisions in the Act intended to protect children and young people from addiction and any other risks to their health include:
o prohibiting the sale of vaping products to under-18s
o prohibiting advertising and sponsorship of vaping products
o prohibiting under-18s from entering specialist vape stores
o restricting flavours sold in general retail, such as dairies and supermarkets, to menthol, mint and tobacco (from August 2021)
