The government has announced that it will soon roll out a survey to establish the actual number of secondary school children in Gibraltar who use vaping products and how often they vape. The public health ministry plans to email parents these surveys. The ministry is also planning to send them a letter. The school-going children will cross the surveys using a QR code.
The government through an official statement said that the information given through the questionnaires will be completely confidential. This is to encourage many schools going children to take part in the study. But most importantly the government wants to get truthful responses to the questions asked.
In Gibraltar, the legal age for one to use tobacco products including vaping products is 18 years. This law is to be enforced without any exceptions. With many secondary schools below this age limit many fear that if they are truthful with their responses then they may be incriminating themselves. However, with the assurance that the study responses will be treated with a high level of confidentiality the government hopes to encourage many school kids who vape to be truthful and to give truthful responses.
To eliminate any doubt about the nature and the goal of the study the government will allow parents to view the questions on the questionaries before the actual start. The survey will commence on 8th December and school children throughout the country have until 22nd December 2022 to complete the questionnaire and hand over their responses.
According to the Public Health Director Dr Hellen Carter, the data collected from secondary school students from across the territory will be used to measure the level of vaping in the region. This is important to enable the government put in place sufficient measures to protect high school kids from the dangers of vaping. In addition, the report will help lawmakers make proper laws to govern the sale and use of vaping products in the region.
Dr Carter was quick to assure parents of pupils who will take part in the survey that the information they provide on the survey questions will not be used to victimize anyone. She revealed that questionnaires will be designed in a way to make sure that those who receive them will not be able to identify any of the respondents. This means that the government will have no means of tracing the responses given to any particular respondent. Dr carter says the survey is purely for planning purposes and not for anything else.
This survey follows reports in the UK that teens aged between 16 and 18 were getting hooked up to vaping more than ever. While many other media reports show that vaping product makers are targeting kids with their advertisements. While many in the medical world still believe that vaping is less harmful than smoking cigarettes several recent reports show that it still carries many of the dangerous health risks that are linked to other tobacco products. For these reasons, the authorities in Gibraltar want to protect its youngsters from the harmful impact of these products.
