Aussie schools LOCKDOWN toilets to stop children from out of control vaping

Vaping has become a growing problem in Australian schools, with some pupils even illegally importing vapes from China and selling them on to their mates for a profit. 

Teachers have also spoken out about unpredictable classroom behaviour caused by high doses of nicotine or kids who are ‘edgy’ because they crave a vape.

The problem has got so bad after Covid-related school lockdowns last year, that some NSW schools are locking toilets during class time to stop students going there to vape. 

The new revelations come as NSW education minister Sarah Mitchell said she will to tackle the issue ‘head on’. 

Vaping has become a growing problem in Australian schools, with NSW taking action to the issue

The action plan includes trying to change social attitudes to vaping, similar to how the anti-smoking movement started in the 1970s.  

Ms Mitchell said dealing with vaping will involve parents, pupils and community attitudes.

‘Increased vaping amongst our students is an issue that concerns me, as both a minister and as a parent,’ she told the Daily Telegraph.

‘We will be looking at everything from advertising, to additional resources in our schools to curated information for parents as we inform our young people to make healthy decisions.’   

Craig Petersen, president of the Secondary Principals Council, said dozens of NSW schools are locking toilets during class time to stop students vaping. 

‘There are parents who are letting their children vape at home … Because of the nature of the vapes, they can get multiple hits very quickly which impacts behaviour,’ he said.  

Mr Petersen and other principals are also concerned about black market activities such as importing the vapes to sell on, and children being supplied with vapes by adults.

Vaping at Australian schools has increased since lockdowns as students picked up the habit while at home unsupervised

One Sydney principal said vape use had surged when students returned from lockdown because they had been left to vape all day unsupervised while at home. 

When one pupil was caught selling vapes, school staff found about 100 vapes and hundreds of dollars made from selling them.  

Another high school principal called for a crackdown on shops selling vapes, saying there should be more legislative control corner stores can’t sell them to children under 18.’

An Education Department spokeswoman encouraged people to tell the police about shops selling vapes.    

NSW Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell has launched an action plan to tackle the problem of vaping

Last year, a 15-year-old Sydney girl had to be ventilated after taking up vaping. 

Dakota Stephenson went to hospital with a high temperature and back pain last September, seven months after she first started vaping with friends at school.

She was ventilated but survived.

Nationwide changes to vaping laws came into effect on October 1, criminalising the importation of e-cigarettes, pods and liquids containing nicotine from overseas without a valid prescription.

There was considerable concern vape vendors were sidestepping the ban on Chinese-made disposable devices by selling them on the black market anyway.