The father of Damilola Taylor has urged Sir Mark Rowley to tackle the “plague” of county lines drugs dealers who are using vapes to recruit children as young as 11.
Justice campaigner Richard Taylor spoke to Scotland Yard chief Sir Mark after being approached by concerned teachers who have seen pupils repeatedly targeted at school gates in south London.
Staff also confiscated hundreds of e-cigarettes with dangerously high levels of nicotine.
Others, changing hands for as little as £5, were stored above ceiling panels in toilets - a tactic learned on TikTok - or were hidden in children’s bags.
Mr Taylor’s 10-year-old son was killed by thugs in Peckham, south London, in 2000.
Following a visit by the Metropolitan Police Commissioner to the Damilola Taylor Centre, Mr Taylor told the Standard: “Vapes have taken over our schools like a plague.
“It’s so blatant, the criminals are recruiting young people at the school gates.
“I told Sir Mark he must clamp down on this vaping epidemic.
“E-cigarettes are highly addictive and the county lines drug dealers know once hooked, they can get children to sell cocaine, heroin and cannabis from London to smaller towns and cities.”
The Met’s county lines taskforce has visited classrooms to urge children to reject the advances of drug dealers offering cash, phones, vapes and clothes.
Razwan Hussain, principal of St Mary Magdalene Secondary Phase in Greenwich, said the school had held lessons focusing on peer pressure, consequences and socio-economic factors surrounding vaping.
Year heads and form tutors also delivered assemblies highlighting the dangers. Parents and carers are informed immediately if students are caught with e-cigarettes.
Mr Hussain added: “We have seen a large rise in the number of students who are vaping.
“We are engaging with students through lessons and form group sessions - and we’re working to help parents to recognise and respond to this issue at home, too.”
It is illegal to sell vapes to under-18s and MPs have called for restrictions on packaging and marketing.
Ndidi Okezie OBE, CEO of national charity UK Youth, said: “Amidst the rising challenges of underage vaping and county lines gang recruitment, there lies an untapped solution with the power to protect our youth - local youth work.
“Youth workers nationwide wield tremendous influence, backed by our research that proves that investing in youth work curtails crime, increases engagement in education and enhances health outcomes.
“Due to a lack of sustainable investment into youth work and the pressures of an unrelenting cost of living crisis, local youth provision is fighting to survive.
“To combat these urgent health and social issues, immediate collective action is imperative. We are calling on business, government and community funders to step up and help us guarantee sustained access to quality youth work for all.
“We cannot continue to ignore these calls for help coming from our youth. We have to address issues of vaping and grooming without delay, proactively providing youth work provision not only to reverse impact, but to prevent these issues from occurring in the first place.
“We believe the solution lies in more joined-up working across health, education, social and youth work professionals.
“Only by working together can we tackle the systemic problems letting young people down.”
