The extraordinarily high rate of vaping in South Africa’s top private and former Model C schools has led to sniffer dogs being brought in and lung specialists being invited to talk to pupils in efforts to slash the trend, with harsh consequences for youngsters caught in possession of the devices.
TimesLIVE reports the Association of Public Boys’ Schools of South Africa (Apbsa), representing 40 schools, as saying that according to anecdotal evidence received, some parents were buying their children vapes and vaping products as birthday gifts.
Johannesburg pulmonologist Dr Anton Meyberg confirmed treating 50 patients aged 12 to 18 with respiratory problems linked to vaping from January to May this year, compared with 10 over the same period last year.
At least 10 schools across the country, responding to the Sunday Times, said they had seen an increase in the number of pupils caught vaping.
David Look, director of discipline at Hilton College in KwaZulu-Natal, said they had invited a leading lung specialist to educate pupils and staff on the health risks of vaping.
“This was followed by a short amnesty period during which boys had the opportunity to voluntarily surrender their vaping devices and seek assistance within the school if they believed they were addicted.”
They were told after the amnesty period, “random and unannounced vape searches would be conducted within our legal ambit”.
“Individuals found in possession of vapes may face severe consequences, which may include exclusion, where appropriate.”
The school contracts the services of a company using sniffer dogs to conduct searches “to demonstrate the seriousness with which we view the habit and the inherent dangers therein”.
“No vapes were found by the sniffer dogs. We will continue to do routine checks as per our proactive plan.”
In November, Hilton College principal George Harris informed parents in a letter that he and senior staff had spoken to the boys about the dangers of vaping.
“I am not convinced we are winning the war on this issue and my request is you speak to your son about the dangers of this practice.”
Australia last month banned recreational vaping and tightened e-cigarette laws to try to halt an alarming rise in teenage vaping, which was “the number one behavioural issue in high schools”, while the the BBC reported recently that vapes confiscated from pupils contain high levels of lead, nickel and chromium, according to tests by the UK’s Baxter College.
British health experts are calling for urgent action on the rise of vaping among children, describing it as an epidemic, with potentially seriously health consequences.
The results of the tests on the confiscated vapes showed children using them could be inhaling more than twice the daily safe amount of lead and nine times the safe amount of nickel.
High levels of lead exposure in children can affect the central nervous system and brain development, according to the WHO.
Shaun Simpson, principal of Rondebosch Boys’ High in Cape Town, confirmed that 97 out of 586 boys, including 45 in matric, who responded to a survey in September admitted to vaping. “Eight indicated they were unable to abstain during school hours.”
Those caught vaping were tested for illegal substances and sniffer dogs were also used.
“A strange addendum to the problem is that we are seeing a rise in broken toilet seats as pupils stand on the toilet to blow the vapour out of windows. It has become a problem.”
The principal of an Afrikaans high school in Johannesburg said pupils often “voluntarily hand in their vapes” before police sniffer dog searches. “Our experience is that parents often buy vapes for their children.”
Doug Prior, principal of Stirling High School in East London, said vaping has become far more popular than smoking cigarettes among the youth.
In the UK, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) has warned that e-cigarettes are not a risk-free product, that vaping “is fast becoming an epidemic among children”, and called on the government to ban disposable vapes.
In response to the current government consultation on e-cigarettes, the RCPCH said e-cigarettes “can be just as addictive, if not more so than traditional cigarettes”.
It is demanding urgent action to protect youngsters, saying experts agree that longer-term data is needed on the effects of vaping, particularly in regard to cardiovascular disease, reports The Independent, and that as the products had only been on sale in the UK since 2007, long-term studies don’t yet exist.
“We have even less evidence on the long-term impacts of these products on young lungs, hearts and brains,” it said.
“It took experts decades to fully understand the impact of traditional cigarettes, we cannot risk our children’s health in waiting this long again for longer-term studies.”
In May, data for Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) showed there has been a 50% rise in the past year in Britain in the proportion of children trying vaping: experimental vaping among 11 to 17-year-olds rising from 7.7% to 11.6% this year, with disposable vapes being the most popular choice.
In 2021, current child vapers were least likely to use vape disposables (7.7%) but in 2022 they became the most used (52%), which has continued to grow to 69% in 2023.
It is illegal to sell vapes to under-18s but social media carries posts from teenagers showing vapes and discussing flavours such as pink lemonade, strawberry, banana and mango.
In its submission, the RCPCH also said the “serious environmental impact of disposable e-cigarettes” must not be ignored.
Vice president for policy and paediatric respiratory consultant Dr Mike McKean, said: “Without a doubt, disposable e-cigarettes should be banned.
“There is absolutely no reason that these cheap, readily available, brightly coloured, recreational products should be single use.
“Youth vaping is fast becoming an epidemic among children, and if action is not taken, we will find ourselves sleepwalking into a crisis. Countries like Scotland, France, Germany, and Ireland, are all seriously considering a ban.”
Ash said it does not support a complete ban on disposable vapes at this time, believing it will drive “the illicit market”.
It also said it recognises that disposable vapes may have a role to play for some groups of particularly disadvantaged smokers.
TimesLIVE article – 'It’s a drug': Crackdown on school vaping 'epidemic' in SA (Open access)
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Vaping among teens at SA’s affluent schools ‘a significant problem’
Vaping industry exploits SA’s policy gap, enticing more to young people to smoke