Headteacher’s warning after pupil, 13, collapses from vape

Glyn Potts, of Blessed John Henry Newman RC College in Chadderton, has said the risks of vaping are “extremely high” and has urged parents to be vigilant.

The Year 8 pupil was travelling on the bus to the school when a friend offered him a vape to try.

It was the 13-year-old boy’s first time trying a vape and he took a large inhalation and collapsed shortly afterwards.

His friends managed to get him to the school’s reception where he then received medical support.

Mr Potts said: “We called the pupil’s parents and rang 999. The ambulance arrived and staff recommended that the student went to hospital to get himself checked out and he went to A&E.

“It was incredibly scary and not ideal for young people to see.”

The headteacher later heard that the friend who offered the pupil the vape had taken it from his older brother in sixth form while he was away.

Last week the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) warned that “youth vaping is fast becoming an epidemic among children” as they called on the Government to ban disposable vapes.

Ministers have now pledged to close a loophole allowing retailers to give free samples of vapes to children in England.

There will also be a review into banning retailers selling 'nicotine-free' vapes to under-18s, and on the rules for issuing fines to shops that illegally sell vapes to children.

It is illegal to sell vapes to under-18s, but social media carries posts from teenagers showing vapes and discussing flavours such as pink lemonade, strawberry, banana, and mango.

Glyn Potts (Image: Glyn Potts)

Mr Potts estimates that around 30 to 50 students at Newman RC College are involved in the use of vapes, which are banned on school grounds, and has noticed a rise in disposable vapes.

“I’ve seen a massive increase in the marketing of vapes. We’re seeing a lot more of the disposable type of vape and we’re seeing them be repurposed with content in them which is not as prescribed.

“Young people are purchasing something they think has CBD oil in it, or something they think is quote “good for anxiety”, but the risks are extremely high.

“We know that you can purchase repurposed disposable vapes from the Cheetham Hill area that report to contain “mental health boosting” ingredients like Lavender but the reality is we don’t know what they contain.

“My argument to parents is before we even talk about the electronics of these things, we have to focus on the fact there are elements of vapes that are not acceptable, and we can’t legislate for at this current time, which put young people at great risk,” he said.

It is illegal to sell vapes to under-18s but social media carries posts from teenagers showing vapes and discussing flavours (Image: PA)

In May, data for Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) showed there has been a 50 per cent rise in the last year in Great Britain in the proportion of children trying vaping.

It found a rise in experimental vaping among 11 to 17-year-olds, from 7.7 per cent last year to 11.6 per cent this year.

Mr Potts said: “It’s not uncommon for younger students, like it was when I was growing up, to have a vape or cigarette thrust upon them, and they just decide to take a little drag.

“The reality is they don’t know what’s in it, they don’t know what they’re doing, and we don’t know the health implications for such devices for one off or regular users we just don’t have enough information about them.”

The RCPCH is calling for urgent action to protect youngsters, saying experts agree that longer-term data is needed on the effects of vaping, particularly in regard to cardiovascular disease.

“However, since e-cigarettes have only been on sale in the UK since 2007, long-term studies don’t yet exist,” it said.

“We have even less evidence on the long-term impacts of these products on young lungs, hearts and brains.

“It took experts decades to fully understand the impact of traditional cigarettes, we cannot risk our children’s health in waiting this long again for longer-term studies.”

Mr Potts said school staff do occasionally see pupils using vapes near to the school grounds which is reported to parents.

“If we see young people vaping, we do where possible try and support those young people, but some parents are less willing to accept the risks associated with vapes and see it as a sensible alternative to smoking which is really concerning for us,” he added.

At Newman RC College lessons on the harms of vaping are built into the RSHE curriculum, assemblies are held twice a year on the risks of vapes, and intervention groups are available to help pupils who want to stop vaping.