Some schools are replacing smoke detectors with heat sensors in a bid to tackle the alarming rise of vaping among students, a headteacher has claimed. MPs on the Health and Social Care Committee were told about the concerning worrying of vaping in schools, with teachers having to keep a close eye on toilets due to the growing number of children using e-cigarettes and triggering the fire alarms.
During the MPs' inquiry into youth vaping, Laranya Caslin, headteacher at St George's Academy in Sleaford, shared her difficulties in addressing the issue of youth vaping. Mrs. Caslin described the significant proportion of students regularly vaping and, in some cases, using the excuse of toilet breaks to indulge in vaping sessions.
She told the Commons committee: “We have a significant proportion of students vaping and they’re vaping regularly and, in some cases, making excuses to leave lessons to go to the toilet to vape."
Mrs. Caslin further highlighted the worrying trend of increased vaping prevalence within their catchment area, estimating that around 25% of students at the school were now vaping. Her school was working with local police, who were also cracking down on underage vaping rates in the market square around the Lincolnshire town.
"Contrasting that to the number of students smoking cigarettes pre-pandemic – that was very rarely an issue in school, so this is a much bigger issue," Mrs. Caslin added.
The headteacher underscored one specific example that adversely impacted education—students vaping in the toilets and setting off fire alarms, leading to repeated interruptions during lessons and exams.
The teacher said: "I had two toilets that I knew students were vaping in that I was monitoring really closely, and I became really concerned about interruptions to the exam season. So I had to change smoke sensors to heat sensors really quickly to prevent us being in and out while students were sitting GCSEs and A levels, and so the ramifications are quite broad in terms of an education setting."
Mrs. Caslin noted the availability of vape sensors on the market but emphasized their high cost, stating that they were "not cheap" and urged that schools should be given access to specific grants to acquire the new technology for their buildings.
Moreover, Mrs. Caslin shed light on the appeal of vape flavors to youngsters, expressing her concern about the marketing tactics employed by the vaping industry. She described how flavors were crafted to entice a younger audience, with names like "gummy bear," "slushy," and even "unicorn milk" and "unicorn frappe."
"Some of them read like a sweet shop, so gummy bear, slushy, but also unicorn milk, unicorn frappe... it's clearly pitched at, in my view, a younger audience, and I would say actually unicorns, they lose their appeal at least by the age of 15. So I think you're talking even young teen, potentially pre-teen, being drawn into that," Mrs. Caslin highlighted.
The parliamentary committee also heard from doctors, who shared concerns about children with asthma being unable to use school toilets due to vaping triggering attacks. Dr. Helen Stewart, the officer for health improvement at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), expressed her support for a ban on vaping in public places.
As the session continued, Members of Parliament questioned representatives from the UK vaping industry. John Dunne, director general of the UK Vaping Industry Association, and Marcus Saxton, chairman of the Independent British Vape Trade Association, denied allegations of promoting flavors to children and refuted claims of attempting to hook a new generation on nicotine.
Mr. Dunne defended vaping products, emphasizing their role as a successful tool for adult smokers to quit smoking. He noted the importance of flavors in aiding adults in their quit attempts and highlighted their significance in the success of vaping as a harm reduction strategy.
The industry representative was asked whether it was “convenient” that he was arguing there was an issue with shops selling to underage children, when really there was a problem with e-cigarettes themselves.
He said “these products have been around well over 15 years, they are the most successful way that adults quit smoking here in the UK”, adding that “flavours are extremely important to adults, that’s one of the reasons vaping is so successful”.
On flavours, Mr Sexton added that there were some products coming in that should be targeted and people prosecuted under existing regulation.
“Having said that, the role of flavours – if any of you have been a smoker – is absolutely critical to enabling a successful quit attempt,” he added.
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