Vaping: Anti-smoking project under way at Cornwall school
BBCA pilot scheme has been launched at a school in Cornwall which aims to reduce the number of pupils who smoke or vape.
The project at Liskeard School and Community College comes as national statistics show vaping is becoming more popular among teenagers.
Project bosses said work would include education with pupils about the consequences, and offering support and workshops.
Local shops have also been inspected and advised by trading standards.
If successful, the scheme would be replicated in other schools and communities, Cornwall Council said.
The primary focus of the scheme is to prevent young people from taking up smoking, but it also aims to discourage vaping.
Vaping among secondary schoolchildren is believed to be rising, with nearly one in five 15-year-olds using e-cigarettes in 2021, a survey by NHS Digital suggested.
Among 11-15-year-olds, 9% say they are vapers - up from 6% in 2018.
Vaping: What is the law?
- Only those aged 18 and over can buy vapes or e-cigarettes
- Certain ingredients, such as caffeine and taurine, are banned
- Nicotine ingredient warnings must appear on packaging
- Packaging should be childproof
- All e-cigarette and e-liquids containing nicotine have to be certified by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) before they can be sold in the UK.
- Any product that is not listed should be returned to the shop where it was bought, or to your local Trading Standards office
- Anyone's experience of suspected side effects from using vapes can be sent to the MHRA via the Yellow Card scheme
- Nicotine-free e-cigarettes do not have to be certified by the MHRA - they are subject to product safety regulations by Trading Standards
Michelle Nightingale, from Healthy Cornwall, who works on the project, said there had been "concern from a lot of schools" about vaping.
She said: "Although we have to remember that vaping is a useful tool for adults to quit smoking, it's not okay for young people to vape.
"It's only a small amount of young people, but we need need to be clear on that message."
The work also aims to help adults, including parents and school staff, to quit smoking.
Cornwall Council said trading standards staff had carried out an initial inspection of shops in the area, offering advice to any selling vapes and seizing any non-compliant products.
Liskeard was chosen because of local health inequalities, including "unfair and avoidable differences in people's health, healthcare services and opportunities to lead a healthy lifestyle", the council said.
Most vapes and e-cigarettes contain some nicotine but do not contain tobacco, which is known to produce harmful side-effects.
A government study in 2022 found vaping is "not risk-free" but "in the short and medium term, vaping poses a small fraction of the risks of smoking".
However, health experts said more research was needed to find out about potential effects over many years.
The government said it had taken action by restricting sales and advertising.
