Vaping and Electronic Cigarettes
From time to time schools can experience an increase in particular behaviours that not only breach our student code of conduct, the Statement of Eddies Pride, but also put our students at risk. Recently there has been an increase in the use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes or ‘vapes’) by students on College grounds or in College uniform.
In the ACT these items are regulated in much the same way as tobacco. It is illegal to sell them to people under 18 years. These products are relatively new but studies suggest that vaping irritates the airways and has a negative impact on asthma control. Further, studies also show that the products are often unlabelled or inaccurately labelled so users cannot be sure what is in them. The coil of the vape releases heavy metals such as lead and these are inhaled when it is used. In addition, while it is illegal to sell vapes that contain nicotine in the ACT, recent testing has found that 60 per cent contained nicotine. This is obviously particularly worrying as young people are at higher risk of developing nicotine addiction and nicotine can affect learning and memory in teenagers and young people.
At St Edmund’s College, we treat incidents of vaping as a breach of our Statement of Eddies Pride. Students are placing themselves and others at risk by having vapes in their possession or using them on College grounds. All incidents that are reported to us are followed up by the Student Wellbeing team and students who participate in any aspect of this activity are held accountable for their actions.
We want our young men to be of vibrant spirit and strong character. We want them to be safe and healthy and to respect the rules that are in place to protect them. While vaping may be accepted in some places and sections of our community it is not acceptable at school.
Information in this article has been taken from the resources below. They provide additional information for parents and carers.
Information about e-cigarettes from ACT Health:
https://www.health.act.gov.au/about-our-health-system/population-health/smoke-free-environments/electronic-cigarettes
Fact Sheet on the health impacts of vaping for young people:
https://www.health.act.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-05/Electronic%20cigarettes.pdf
Anna Blore
Head of O’Brien House