Educational sessions planned to help children reduce vaping

Stafford Borough Council will team up with Re-Solv, a local charity which focuses on reducing addiction and substance misuse, to deliver age-appropriate sessions on e-cigarettes and vaping in primary and secondary schools.

Members of Staffordshire County Council have previously raised fears about vapes being targeted at children, with tempting dessert flavours and bright colours used in marketing. There are also concerns about vape shops operating close to schools and colleges in the county – and the number of children using vapes has tripled in the past three years, councillors were told at a meeting last year.

Last month the Government announced new measures to tackle youth vaping. Disposable vapes are set to be banned, while new powers will enable restriction of flavours and packaging,

The borough council’s action to reduce vaping by children and young people is one of four projects being funded by £193,833 from the county council. The money has been allocated to tackle health inequalities and must be spent by September, borough council cabinet members were told at their latest meeting.

Councillor Jill Hood, cabinet member for community, said: “The first project is a targeted proactive home repairs service for people living in poor health and on a low income.

“We will do proactive house inspections in areas where we know there are poor housing conditions and we will take referrals from partners for households who they think will benefit from our support. The aim is for these improvements to improve the health of residents as well as reducing demand for emergency hospital admissions, speeding up hospital discharge, postponing entry into residential care or reducing the cost of care at home.

“The second project is working with (boxing club) The Right Stuff Project and selected schools in the borough to achieve trauma-informed status. It will improve mental, physical and academic outcomes for their students

“The Covid pandemic and its effects have been long-lasting and the effects of this are still being seen today, especially for young people and in school settings. Trauma-informed practice originates from an approach developed in the fields of medicine and mental health, allowing practitioners to sensitively support people with traumatic history.

“Working within the local charity Re-Solv, the third project will deliver a range of age-appropriate sessions to children and young people across a variety of settings, including primary and secondary schools and Stafford College, to educate and support children in reducing their use of e-cigarettes. This work will target hotspot areas and young people that are most vulnerable.

“The final project is to carry out a Health Impact Assessment of Stafford Station Gateway, which has recently been awarded nearly £20m as part of the Levelling Up Fund. A Health Impact Assessment is a tool used to identify the health impact of a project and develop recommendations to maximise its positive impact and minimise any negative impact – this will ensure health is fully considered in the development and delivery of the Stafford Gateway project.”