Derby teenagers are being helped to be more aware of the dangers of vaping in the first city-wide campaign of its kind this week.
Every state secondary school in the city, along with the council’s public health department, regard the problem of vaping amongst teenagers as so serious they have all agreed to collaborate on the Vape Awareness Week which is running from June 19 – 23.
In the first city-wide schools’ collaboration of its kind, academy principals have been working together for months to produce a week’s worth of assemblies and toolkits to help raise awareness amongst teenagers and their families about the dangers of vaping.
Secondary heads said the issue of teenagers vaping had got out of hand across the city – along with the rest of the UK – and they were trying to address the situation by coming up with a collaborative approach.
Michelle Robinson, public health manager from Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing at Derby City Council, said though fewer young people were smoking cigarettes in the UK, more were taking to e-cigarettes.
Though they have become a tool to help adults stop smoking, e-cigarettes still contain nicotine and cannot be sold to under-18s.
Derby’s awareness week comes days after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak voiced his shock at the sharp rise in vaping amongst teenagers and reports of school children getting hold of illicit vapes containing lead.
The Prime Minister has pledged to tackle the issue of free vape samples being marketed to under-18s, with the use of child-friendly bright colours a particularly noxious selling tactic.
Jenny Brown, principal of Derby Cathedral School, who has led on the Vape Awareness Week, said: “We are all aware that this is a national issue for young people in schools. We are becoming increasingly concerned about the impacts on young people. What particularly struck me was some of the packaging of vapes that are very clearly marketed at young people. For example, there is one that looks like a Fruit Shoot. It’s very upsetting that they are being marketed at young people. It puts them in a very vulnerable position, taking part in an activity that they don’t know enough about.
“Derby is a very collaborative city. Our secondary schools do work really well together. After a few conversations with each of us trying to tackle it in our own different ways, we thought actually, it would be a lot more powerful if we all came together on the issue. It’s about making sure that as a group of secondaries we are doing everything we can to protect our young people.”
During this week, assemblies are being delivered to every secondary school pupil in Derby to help make them aware of vaping and its dangers. Written materials have also been produced which are being sent home with pupils so they can share them with families.
Michelle Strong, principal of Alvaston Moor Academy, who has also been heavily involved with organising the Vape Awareness Week, said: “The problem is very worrying, it’s almost an epidemic. It’s out of control.
“Vapes should not be readily available. The fact that a lot of them look like sweets and are clearly packaged for young people also needs to be addressed. They are promoted as being better than smoking – but what are the long-term medical issues?”
The Bemrose School have also been heavily involved in Vape Awareness Week with several events taking place throughout school to highlight the dangers.
Neil Wilkinson, executive head teacher at The Bemrose School, says that the increase in 11-15-year-olds using e-cigarettes – up from 6% to 9% amongst this age group according to the most recent NHS figures – is worrying.
“The rise in young people using cheap disposable vapes, often brightly coloured and with a wide variety of flavours that appeal, is a concern and that is why, together with other secondary schools across the city, we feel that it’s important to increase awareness amongst our pupils.
“It’s a worrying trend and hopefully we can educate and inform.”
Councillor Alison Martin, Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Care at Derby City Council said: “I’m pleased that Derby schools are working together to tackle the growing issue of vaping among children and young people. The council’s Public Health Department will be supporting the schools to raise awareness among parents of the risks and dangers of vaping for children and young people. We will also be helping the schools to deliver good quality drug education to develop young people’s awareness of the risks, as well as providing training to school staff so they can support young people who need specific help with this problem.
“The use of e-cigarettes is unsafe for children and young people because they contain nicotine which is highly addictive and can harm adolescent brain development. So whilst using e-cigarettes has become a very popular and often effective way for adults to stop smoking, they are not recommended for non-smokers and cannot be sold to under 18s. That’s the message we need to get across.”
