Campaigning headmaster welcomes ban on disposable vapes
The Government's proposed ban on disposable vapes has been welcomed by campaigning Kidderminster headteacher Matthew Carpenter.
Baxter College were one of the first schools in the country to install anti-vape alarms in its toilets and featured in a national BBC investigation about flavoured nicotine machines.
The vape ban, announced by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, follows a sharp rise in children using vapes, despite their sale to under 18s being illegal. Despite vapes being marketed as an alternative to smoking cigarettes their popularity with children has caused health concerns.
Mr Carpenter said: “Vapes are a major part of youth culture and children are becoming addicted to nicotine when they are very young.”
“The harmful effect of nicotine on the development of young brains is well documented and imported vapes containing toxic chemicals are also getting onto the streets.”
A BBC investigation which featured Baxter College last year, after vape alarms were fitted in the school’s toilets, revealed alarming levels of chemicals in vapes confiscated from students.
In some vapes designed to look like highlighter pens, tests revealed they contained 2.4 times the safe exposure level of lead, 9.6 times the safe level of nickel and 6.6 times the safe level of chromium.
The investigation highlighted a nationwide issue for schools tackling the problem of children and young people vaping.
Alongside the ban on disposable vapes, government measures will also be introduced to prevent vapes being marketed at children and to target under-age sales.
