Horror as Geelong boy, 5, hospitalised after finding vape at school

A young Geelong boy was hospitalised after trying a friend's mother's vape at a regional Victorian school. Photo / 123RF

The father of a five-year-old boy has spoken out in horror after his son was hospitalised from vaping at school.

He was rushed to Geelong Hospital after taking several hits before suffering from vomiting and coughing.

The e-cigarette is believed to have belonged to a seven-year-old student's mother.

The vape was empty by the end of the school day.

Three weeks later, the prep student is still suffering health woes and is waiting to be told if he has pneumonia.

Concerned dad Steven said the youngster has been struggling to breathe and vomiting since the incident took place.

Children are often caught vaping at school. Photo / Getty Images

"The innocence about it is so dangerous. His friend brought it to school and told him to suck on it because it tastes like grapes," he told the Herald Sun.

"The vape was empty by the time we picked them up from school."

The horror episode comes months after it was revealed school‐age children are being exposed to an increasing number of vaping and e‐cigarette videos on TikTok.

University of Queensland researchers analysed more than 800 videos featuring the modern smoking practice.

As well as being viewed more than 1.1 billion times, 63 per cent portrayed vaping and e‐cigarettes in a positive light.

Lead author and PhD candidate Tianze Sun said there had been a massive increase in the number of young people using vapes and e‐cigarettes in recent years.

"This could partly be due to exposure from friends and influencers on social media," she said.

The hashtag #vape has had more than 5 billion views on TikTok alone.