Some schools are having to switch smoke detectors to heat sensors to prevent vaping by children setting off alarms during lessons and exams, MPs have heard. The Health and Social Care Committee was told about vaping rates in schools, with headteachers being forced to monitor toilets due to the number of children using e-cigarettes.
In evidence to the MPs’ inquiry on youth vaping, Laranya Caslin, headteacher at St George’s Academy in Sleaford, which teaches children aged 11 to 18, told of her problems in tackling youth vaping. Also giving evidence to the committee were representatives from the UK vaping industry and experts from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) and Action on Smoking and Health (Ash).
Mrs Caslin told MPs: “We have a significant proportion of students vaping and they’re vaping regularly and, in some cases, making excuses to leave lessons to go to the toilet to vape. I think we have seen, across our catchment area, a significant increase (in vaping).
