NEWS
BRIDGETOWN-GREENBUSHES STAR SEPTEMBER 2023
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High School takes action on vaping
BRIDGETOWN HIGH SCHOOL ISN’T IMMUNE TO A WORLDWIDE HEALTH PROBLEM
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ridgetown’s High School students have been getting a lesson on the dangers of vaping thanks to school nurse Sarah Anderson. Like many schools throughout Australia, Bridgetown High School has a problem with vaping, with many students regularly indulging in the habit in and out of school hours. The WA Education Department introduced an antivaping toolkit to the state’s high schools in June, along with a policy of mandatory suspension of students caught vaping. In 2022 nearly 4000 children were suspended from public schools in WA for vaping. Naomi Pedrochi, school health nurse in the Southwest, said that “the horse has bolted” when it comes to vaping, but that education is the key to tackling the problem. She said that kids are curious and like to take risks, but many have no idea of the dangers of vaping. “They think it’s just flavoured water,” she said. In reality, however, vapes are loaded with nicotine in far higher concentrations than cigarettes. Six-out-of-10 vapes labelled “non nicotine” have been found to contain nicotine, and the nicotine in one vape can equal 50 cigarettes. The potential for addiction and a lifetime of health problems is huge. Ninety percent of adult smokers started as teens, and young non-smokers who vape are three times more likely to start smoking cigarettes than those who don’t. The danger doesn’t just end with the nicotine. They’ve been proven to contain up to 200 dangerous chemicals, including acetone, acrolein (a chemical found in herbicides), chemicals found in cleaning products, and even formaldehyde. They can cause lasting lung damage.
IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK
In May this year the Federal Government moved to remove all single use, disposable vapes from retail sale and to stop the vaping industry from targeting young people with enticing flavours, colourful packaging, and digital marketing. In theory vapes are only available through a doctor’s prescription, but that hasn’t stopped the sale of vapes that have been deliberately designed to appeal to children, with attractive flavours and colourful pictures and lettering. “It’s a problem that’s crept up and swamped schools,” Ms. Pedrochi said.
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In 2019, 11 per cent of 14-to-25 year olds had tried vaping, by 2020 it was 32 per cent, and by 22 it had grown to 48 per cent, she said. She added that the Southwest was not alone with the problem. “It’s world-wide,” she said. Yet despite the dangers, many parents seem relatively unaware of the risks. Ms. Pedrochi said that while 80 per cent of parents talk to their children about drugs, just 40 per cent talk to them about vaping, a far more prevalent health threat.
