Princes Hill Secondary College student attacked at school during dodgy lunchtime vape sale

Teachers and parents have raised the alarm on shady student-to-student vape sales going ahead in broad daylight after a violent clash broke out between students at a Melbourne school.

Brazen school students are dealing vapes on-campus during broad daylight in a bid to skirt around tough anti-vaping laws, resulting in violent schoolyard clashes and mass confiscations.

The Saturday Herald Sun can reveal a Princes Hill Secondary College student was violently attacked by two teenage girls last month following an alleged dodgy lunchtime vape sale.

A parent from the school, speaking anonymously, said the fight broke out at the neighbouring Princes Park after a girl demanded a refund on a vape that was empty when she purchased it.

Teachers were forced to intervene in a nasty schoolyard clash over illegal vape dealings at Princes Hill Secondary College. Picture: Supplied

The fight, in which the schoolyard dealer was allegedly punched, kicked and her hair ripped out, was observed by a large group of students while on-duty teachers were forced to intervene, according to a letter sent to parents by school principal Trevor Smith, who said occurrences of this sort were “very rare”.

It comes as one fed up teacher at a high school in Melbourne’s outer eastern suburbs claimed the situation had barely improved since the ban on disposable vape importations in January.

“The only thing that helps us is detectors in toilets,” she said.

“These go off at least six times each day.”

School students are dealing vapes on-campus in an effort to skirt around Victoria’s new anti-vaping laws. Picture: Supplied

It’s hoped new laws — which came into effect on October 1 giving pharmacists the green light to supply vapes containing up to 20mg/ml of nicotine to adults without a prescription — will deter people from buying vapes illegally.

But two former vape dealers, who spoke to the Sunday Herald Sun on the condition of anonymity, said students would still find a way to purchase the black market goods as the current laws weren’t strong enough.

One former vape dealer said he used to bulk-buy the disposable devices from overseas with a pack of 400 costing about $3000 — equating to about $7.50 per vape.

“You can make a lot of money selling vapes, which is why a lot of dealers do it,” he said.

“I often got back double what I spent buying them.”

He would sell them for $25 each to mates as well as people who would message him on Snapchat, but drew the line when anyone under the age of 15 tried to purchase from him.

“Those kids were just too f--king young, and I regret vaping myself so I didn’t want to contribute to their habit,” he said.

A second former vape dealer, who used to sell vapes at school, said she would buy the illegal goods from a tobacco shop nearby using a fake ID.

“I would buy 30 at a time and sell them for $25 each … I had a spare period every Wednesday, so I would buy the vapes then sell them in the bathroom at lunch time,” she said.

When asked whether they regretted selling vapes to teenagers, the pair said they wish they hadn’t started vaping altogether.

“I’ve tried multiple times to quit but it’s just too f--king addictive … I want it to be as hard as it could possibly be to get vapes because right now it’s too easy,” the male former dealer said.

Vape dealers have admitted to purchasing illegal vapes with fake IDs before selling on school grounds.

A Department of Education spokesman told the Sunday Herald Sun that updated guidance was provided to schools to address vaping in March.

“Smoking and vaping are banned in all educational facilities, including schools, and within four metres of any school entrance,” he said.

Quit Director Rachael Andersen said the support organisation was finalising resources for grade five and six students to prevent vaping before it starts.

“Quit works closely with education and health professionals to ensure messages about the harms of vaping and the availability of support to quit are communicated to young people,” she said.

“For anyone looking to quit vaping, Quitline is here … you can reach out to Quitline via WhatsApp, web chat, Facebook Messenger, or use the website to request a call back at a time that suits you.

“A reminder to anyone facing nicotine addiction – you are not alone.”

For support, Quitline is available on 13 78 48, as well as on Facebook and WhatsApp. For more information on how to contact the helpline, visit the Quit website.

Originally published as Princes Hill Secondary College student attacked at school during dodgy lunchtime vape sale