Vaping: Head teachers crack down on post-Covid e-cigarette spike

Schools have been cracking down on vape use

Schools have been clamping down on vaping following a rise in kids using e-cigarettes since the pandemic.

Teachers have been left frustrated by the attractiveness and availability of the products to teenagers.

At Ysgol y Strade in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, staff patrolling the grounds at lunch time have a zero-tolerance approach.

Pupil caught vaping are excluded, with further punishments for repeat offenders.

Before Covid lockdowns, vaping was not a big issue for schools, but the 1,300-pupil Ysgol y Strade, like others, saw things change when pupils returned.

Two years ago it decided to introduce tougher sanctions and raise awareness of the rules and the risks of vaping.

• Has lockdown led to bad behaviour?

• Vapes should be prescription only, says Drakeford

Assistant head teacher, Daniel Hughes, said the number of children caught with vapes had fallen "substantially".

First time offenders usually get excluded for one day, after which the number increases.

Ysgol y Strade assistant head teacher, Daniel Hughes, wants disposable vapes banned

Mr Hughes said: "For most, the once works and we try and work with the parents to try and reduce and change the behaviours and attitudes."

Patrols try to deter those tempted to vape, with staff monitoring corridors while the senior team walk woodland on school grounds.

The toilets have proved problematic as some are "hidden away", but stopping pupils using the loos in groups has helped.

Year 8 pupils said encountering vapers could be uncomfortable.

"There is a small group who do it quite a lot," Ioan, 13, said.

Bryn, 12, blamed "peer pressure" while Steffan, 13, said it was "too easy" for children to get hold of vapes.

Ysgol y Strade pupils Steffan, Bryn, Ioan, Rhys were aware vaping was a problem

Exclusions have been in single figures so far this term, the school said.

Mr Hughes said he was sticking with the approach as part of the school's commitment to supporting good behaviour, adding that he favoured completely banning disposable vapes.

At Ysgol Cwm Brombil in Port Talbot, vape sensors have been installed in toilets and when they are activated, staff can check CCTV cameras outside to see who was in there.

Deputy head teacher Eurig Thomas said fewer pupils now left lessons to go to the toilet, adding: "What we want to do is eliminate that distraction within schools."

He said he wanted tougher legislation on vaping and questioned who companies were trying to appeal to when they sold vapes in bright colours.

Blue Sky Digital rents out sensors to schools for about £200 a month.

Managing director, Neil Brewer, said that cost was cancelled out by extra costs associated with the problem.

"We've come across instances where schools are paying £2,000 to £3,000 just to have toilets unblocked because of the disposable vapes," he said.

Ceiling tiles and basins had also been damaged by pupils hiding vapes, he said.

Ysgol Cwm Brombil deputy head teacher Eurig Thomas said vape sensors had been installed in the school toilets

What are the rules on vaping?

It is illegal to sell vapes to under-18s or to buy them for a child and the UK government has outlined plans to tax them and tighten restrictions.

The Welsh government has called for a ban on disposable vapes but does not have the power to do so itself.

Industry representatives said they did not condone targeting children and backed punitive action against those that did.

UK Vaping Industry Association boss John Dunne said: "Smokers trying to quit rely on disposable vapes and to ban them could potentially have fatal consequences."

Health charity Ash Cymru said children addicted to nicotine should be supported not punished.

Chief executive Suzanne Cass said: "It's the people selling vapes to underage young people who are the criminals, not the children."

• ROBOT HELPER, ROBOT FRIEND?: The implications of AI's growing involvement in our lives

• DEATH OF A CODEBREAKER: The man found naked & dead inside a bag