The government’s school behaviour adviser has called on headteachers to crack down on vaping among pupils, calling it “a huge health hazard” and an “enormous distraction”, amid reports that more children are using the devices, including some of primary age.
Tom Bennett said vaping was now as big an issue in schools as cigarettes once were, with children becoming “addicted to the practice and the chemicals involved”.
He called on school leaders to confiscate prohibited items, set clear sanctions and follow them through with zero exceptions.
Headteachers in England have described pupils being caught vaping in toilet blocks, and some being lured into dealing vapes in return for free ones.
Other children are frightened to go to the toilet because of the illicit vaping going on, and learning is being disrupted as pupils sneak off for a quick vape between lessons, making them late for class.
