Australian schools install vape detectors inside bathrooms

New vape alarms are set to be installed in Australian high schools to help curb teenagers’ use of e-cigarettes.

Plumpton High School, in western Sydney, is one of the schools that will implement the latest vape-detecting alarms, which can also catch vapour, marijuana and cigarette smoke.

The detectors will be installed throughout the school, including in the bathrooms, and send out alarms if they detect smoke or vapour.

The Australian Alcohol and Drug Foundation found that about 14 per cent of children aged have tried vaping

Plumpton will also follow a new education program designed by Western Sydney Local Health District’s Clinical Professor Smita Shah.

The program will see students learn about vaping during Personal Development, Health and Physical Education classes, give them a ‘decision-making rationale’ and teach them about vape misinformation on social media.

The Halo vape detectors (above) send out alarms if they detect smoke from vapes and will be part of the school’s comprehensive anti-vaping program

The Australian Alcohol and Drug Foundation found that about 14 per cent of kids aged 12 to 17 have tried an e-cigarette.

About 63 per cent of those children were exposed to vaping through their friends. 

While schools are not required to tackle the issue of vaping in their courses, Plumpton Principal Tim Lloyd is passionate about helping his students avoid the dangerous product.

Plumpton Principal Tim Lloyd (above) said he is passionate about the schools new ‘holistic’ approach to vaping prevention

He said the vape detectors are part of the school’s comprehensive plan to stop vaping.

‘They are a part of a whole comprehensive structure we have in terms of health and wellbeing… We don’t have a huge issue and we put that down to being vigilant around making sure all kids are safe,’ he told News Corp.

‘It’s part of a holistic approach to education and future-proofing our kids for their health and wellbeing.’

‘It’s about a comprehensive strategy to help kids make the right choices.’

The federal government banned the importation of nicotine-based vapes in October last year, but it has done little to curve the products entering Australia 

It is illegal to vape or smoke on school grounds, or for businesses to sell vapes, which carry high levels of nicotine, to people under 18 years old.

Vapes have become an increasing concern in schools with experts worried students are not fully aware of the dangers of smoking and putting their lives at risk.

A ‘perfectly healthy’ teenage boy suffered a seizure from a huge dose of nicotine while vaping in his school’s toilets.

The student was rushed to hospital after he was found at Blue Mountains Grammar, west of Sydney, and has recovered, but could have long-lasting brain damage.

Deputy headmaster and head of senior school Owen Laffin told parents about the student’s seizure in a letter at the start of June.

‘Last week, an otherwise perfectly healthy senior student collapsed in the toilets, experienced an extended seizure and was taken to hospital by ambulance after using a vape,’ he wrote.

‘Medical evidence suggests that the seizure was caused by a massive dose of nicotine.

‘While I am profoundly grateful to say that the student has now recovered, the risk of head injury or hypoxia-induced brain damage are terrible to contemplate.’

Mr Laffin acknowledged the school had ongoing problems with e-cigarettes, and urged parents to discuss it with their children.

‘I write to our whole community today in order to highlight the extraordinary dangers of vaping and to urge parents to discuss them with your children,’ he wrote.

Australian National University epidemiologist Emily Banks said some disposable vapes had the nicotine of 10 packs of cigarettes.

‘Those disposable devices are very strong and have high doses of nicotine in them,’ she told the Sydney Morning Herald.

‘People feel sick, they can vomit, lightheaded. The seizures are the thing people are most worried about. There has been the odd case of people having heart rhythm problems – it is one of the documented hazards.’

There have even been cases of vape uses going into cardiac arrest.

One in three vapes sold in Australia contain illegal amounts of banned chemicals and may cause dangerous illnesses including ‘popcorn lung’ 

Banned levels of ingredients linked to harmful lung diseases such as ‘popcorn lung’ have been found in nearly a third of vapes sold in Australia.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration found 31 per cent of the 214 e-cigarettes it analysed had chemical concentrations that exceeded the legal limit.

Those substances included the additives vitamin E acetate and diacetyl, which is widely linked to a rare condition called bronchiolitis obliterans that damages the small airways in the lungs.

The disease is nicknamed ‘popcorn lung’ because diacetyl used to be added to microwave popcorn as a food colouring.

Pictured is an X-ray scan showing the effects of ‘popcorn lung’ – which has been widely linked to vaping

The TGA also found all 190 nicotine vape products it tested broke new labelling rules designed to warn customers of the potential dangers. 

A spokesman for the government body said the banned ingredients were known to cause lung damage in the form of bronchiolitis obliterans and EVALI.

EVALI – which stands for e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury – is thought to be caused by vapes containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a psychoactive substance also found in marijuana, and vitamin E acetate.

Federal legislation introduced last October imposed minimum safety standards for nicotine vapes imported from overseas and made warning labels mandatory. 

Australian teens hooked on addictive e-cigarettes have been urged to quit vaping immediately, as thousands of the pens are sold everyday despite nation-wide bans

The law also made it illegal to purchase nicotine vapes without a prescription.

The new laws are set to curb the risk of nicotine vaping uptake in young adults, while also allowing current smokers to access the products for smoking cessation, according to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). 

There are still two ways prescription holders can obtain nicotine vaping products in Australia; from a pharmacy or importing from overseas websites.  

Prescriptions can only be written by one of 80 authorised prescribers, or by a doctor with approval under the TGA’s Special Access Scheme B. 

An authorised prescriber of nicotine vaping products must be a GP who is registered with the Therapeutic Goods Administration. 

Despite disapproval from vaping advocates, the new laws are being supported by The Australian Council on Smoking and Health (ACOSH).

‘ACOSH strongly supports any measure that will effectively stem the flow of illegal disposable e-cigarettes into Australia that are being used by an increasing number of children and teenagers,’ said Chief Executive Maurice Swanson.

‘There is growing concern about the use of e-cigarettes among children and teenagers.’