Year 4 kids suspended over dangerous vape trend

Queensland kids are using sneaky a tactic to smuggle vapes into schools, with some as young as Year 4 taking up the dangerous trend. Here’s how they’re pulling the wool over teachers’ eyes.

Queensland kids are smuggling vapes disguised as asthma puffers to school while children as young as Year 4 are suspended over the worrying trend.

Retailing for between $90 and $150 online, the vapes appear to a standard Ventolin inhaler at first glance.

One website promoted their product with the tag “stop getting those disappointing looks when you try to self ‘medicate’ in public by taking your ‘medicine’ with the asthma inhaler vaporiser”.

Another was promoted as being “a great choice for anyone who wants to be discreet”.

Kids have also been busted taking vapes to school which are disguised as standard stationary items such as USB sticks, highlighters, pens and phone cases.

School students are jumping on the sneaky new trend to smuggle vapes onto school grounds. Picture: File.

TikTok trends, and the fact vapes are heavily promoted in a range of colours and flavours such as bubblegum, chocolate and peppermint has also contributed to a rise in usage among young people, experts claim.

Multiple Queensland schools have been holding emergency parent information sessions on vaping this year in a bid to increase awareness, and curb the rising trend.

Calamvale Community College executive principal Lisa Starmer said the school had suspended students as young as Year 4 for “bringing and sharing vapes”.

“Carrying the responsibility for your students’ health whilst they are at school, we have reacted very strongly to ‘vapes’ being brought to school and then shared with others,” she recently wrote to parents.

Vapes are being sold which look like school stationary including highlighters and USBs. Picture: Tim Hunter.

“Our penalties will remain strong and we encourage you to make sure that your children do not have access to these devices and hence do not bring them to school.”

Earlier this month Marsden State High School head of department Laura Baker recently told parents it was “very concerning to see the number of Year 7 students vaping at school”.

“We have recently seen in increase in the amount of students vaping or in possession of a vape on school grounds,” she said.

“The health concerns are alarming, so we want to support you and your students in any way possible to get this fad eliminated.”

The Lung Foundation chef executive Mark Brooke said identifying the disguised vapes was increasingly a problem for parents and educators.

“It’s incredibly disturbing that vaping companies would manufacture a product disguised as a common medicine,” he said.

“It speaks to the integrity of the industry, and highlights the need for parents to have a conversation with their children about their lung health.”

Mr Brooke said there was clear evidence that vaping products contained chemicals which were dangerous to a person’s lungs, adding “the only thing which should be going into your lungs is clean air”.