School Vaping
Teachers and school staff in Australia are getting worried about the large number of students being caught vaping in schools. According to a study that was recently published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health teachers, school staff, and other stakeholders are raising an alarm about the increasing use of e-cigarettes by learners. These schoolers are worried about the potential impact these products are likely to have on mental health and ultimately on the performance of the students who use them. More than half of the teachers and school staff interviewed for the study believe that vaping in school leads to a shift in the culture of the schools.
According to the study more than a third of teachers and school staff in primary schools said that they have evidence of at least one of their student’s vapes. One-quarter of this said this practice has increased over the past two years.
However, Professor Simone Pettigrew of the George Institute argues that little is known about primary school children using vaping products in the country. This is even though there are tons of evidence that shows primary school kids vaping in other countries. She said:
“Most of what we know about student vaping comes from research conducted in secondary schools in the United States.”
She believes that Australia is on the wrong path as the study shows that there is a trend of primary school kids taking up vaping. She wants this trend to be nipped in the bud to prevent any future harm to the kids.
For the study 196 school teachers and staff were asked to complete an online survey on the student vaping behaviour they had observed. 57% of these respondents came from South Wales or Victoria and 28% were from schools outside metropolitan areas. 42% were staff in primary schools and 37% were from secondary schools the remaining were from combined primary and secondary schools.
The results from the studies showed that 51% of the respondents agreed that there was a net increase in vaping among their students in the past two years. This can further be split into two: 27% were from primary schools and 72% from secondary schools. This shows that the increase in vaping was highest among secondary schools although a worrying significant number of primary school learners were also taking up the practice.
According to professor Pettigrew, primary school kids were more likely to steal e-cigarettes from home or borrow from an older sibling. On the other hand, the older teenagers in secondary schools got someone else to buy them for them or got them from friends who were 18 years or older. Some even bought the products online by pretending to be older.
The problem with an increase in vaping is that most schools do not have a vaping policy and many of these schools have not provided vaping prevention education to their students. According to the study, only a third of the respondents reported that their schools have a vaping policy or are actively involved in educating students on the dangers of vaping.
Professor Pettigrew believes that the main problem is that: “many Australian students can readily access e-cigarettes and that vaping in schools is becoming more prevalent, including in primary schools.”
She suggests that to solve the problem school staff need more support to help students avoid taking on vaping. This will help in preventing the harmful impact of using those products.
