Victoria’s shocking schoolyard vaping incidents revealed

Primary schools and high schools are reporting dozens of shocking incidents involving vapes, with some children ending up in hospital.

A student collapsing and being rushed to hospital after inhaling a vape is just one of dozens of shocking incidents reported to the Victorian Department of Education.

Data obtained by the Herald Sun under Freedom of Information laws ­has revealed a litany of illegal vaping incidents so serious they were reported to the department, including many cases where police and ambulances were forced to attend.

There were almost 60 reports between 2021-22, half of which were from primary schools, including an incident where multiple students sold vapes to their peers on school grounds.

But many more cases go unreported to the department, with teachers flagging incidents to principals every week.

There have been many occasions of students buying vapes and selling them to their peers on school grounds. Picture: Mark Stewart

It can also be revealed that many tobacconists on Chapel St – known as the “vape sales hotspot” – are thumbing their noses at the law to such an extent that they are openly selling illegal vaping products to students in school uniform.

The Herald Sun has also uncovered social media accounts where teens openly brag about “making fast cash” by selling illegal vapes to students.

The most shocking incidents on school grounds include:

A male student collapsing at school after inhaling drugs through a vape and being rushed to hospital;

• Ambulance attending after a student appeared “substance affected” after using a vape;

• A primary school student caught vaping in class, who ran away when asked to hand it over;

• Seven male primary students suspended after being caught with vapes;

• A primary school student caught bringing their older sibling’s vape to school;

• Multiple incidents where students shared vapes with other pupils including “selling them on school grounds”;

• A student verbally abused a staff member when they tried to confiscate their vapes; and

• The fire brigade called to a school after students who were vaping in the toilets set off the fire alarm.

In Victoria, it is illegal for e-cigarettes – also known as “vapes” – to be sold to anyone aged under 18 years.

While adults are free to buy and use e-cigarettes, vapes containing nicotine require a prescription.

In Victoria it is illegal to sell vapes to anyone under 18.

The Herald Sun visited several Chapel St tobacconists on multiple occasions in the past three months, where retailers openly promoted the black market goods with nicotine labels in their display cabinets.

In one tobacconist, young teens in school uniforms were lined up and presented with cardboard-made lists of vaping products, with prices from as little as $20 for 1800 puffs.

Staff did not ask teens for identification or provide receipts and told teens not to remove the vapes from plastic bags while leaving their shop.

The Andrews Government is investigating how to beef-up efforts to crackdown on Victorian stores illegally selling vapes.

Premier Daniel Andrews confirmed work was under way after the Herald Sun’s reporting of the serious safety incidents among students.

“We don’t want to see this sort of activity in our schools,” he said.

“This is not good for health, its not right (and) it’s not allowed in our schools.

“Maybe we need to be even quicker about this, and we will if we have to, (we are) a government looking at some of the enforcement provisions.

“These products are being sold, they should not.”

Mr Andrews said importing the products into the country were a federal issue but flagged “better efforts on a state level to enforce our current laws”.

“Probably less around law reform and maybe more a really concerted effort to go and enforce the laws that are on the books now,” he said.

A vaping price list from a Chapel St tobacconist. Picture: Supplied

“I know there’s some work going on. I’ve not been briefed on it very recently, but I do know that there is work going on.

“I’ve confirmed this morning that that’s an ongoing issue and maybe we need to do more there.

“If we do (need to do more) then, of course we will.”

Mr Andrews said leaders within school communities, the education department and health associations were working on the issue.

But Opposition Leader John Pesutto said it was clear the Andrews government wassn’t doing enough to crackdown on vaping.

“There’s too much vaping going on,” he said.

“We know that more and more can be done in the space of education and also enforcement.

“The Andrews government needs to take enforcement and education much more seriously. We don’t want, particularly young people, using these products.”

Mr Pesutto said revelations in the Herald Sun were of “great concern”.

A primary school teacher in Stonnington said Chapel St was known to be a “vape sales hotspot”. “We know that there are so many shops illegally selling these products to kids on the strip, we have found vapes in school bags and pencil cases,” she said. Cancer Council Victoria chief executive Todd Harper said: “Despite the fact it is illegal to sell any vaping products to children, we know many teens are walking into shops to buy, no questions asked.” Mr Harper called for stronger government action at our borders and a crackdown on retailers who flout the law.

QUIT and Cancer Council Victoria’s 2022 Victorian Smoking and Health Survey showed that 75 per cent of people who vaped purchased their products from bricks and mortar stores.

Australian National University Professor Emily Banks, who was the lead author for last year’s independent review into e-cigarettes, said vapes’ high levels of nicotine can lead to addiction.

Many retailers are openly flouting the law by selling vapes to children.

“We hear teachers talking about how they’ve got kids in their classes that are actually in that cycle of addiction,” she said. Prof Banks said she was aware of cases where paramedics had to treat young vape users for nicotine poisoning – which can lead to seizures.

A Department of Education spokeswoman said: “Smoking and vaping is banned in all educational facilities in Victoria, including schools, along with being banned within four metres of any school entrance.”

“The health and safety of students is always paramount, that’s why the department works in partnership with organisations such as Quit and Cancer Council Victoria to share guidance and support for schools and families to navigate resources and assist young people using e-cigarettes,” she said.

A Victoria Police spokesman said police had engaged with schools in some areas to help inform parents and staff.

How easy it is for kids to buy vapes

A Victorian study has exposed the extent of the illegal vape trade – and how underage teenagers are getting their hands on addictive nicotine products.

One-in-five underage vape users reported buying their nicotine e-liquids from tobacco retailers, according to a Melbourne University study published in BMC Public Health.

This is despite Victorian law, which rules e-cigarette products that contain nicotine can only be sold by pharmacies to adults with a prescription, while “nicotine free” products – which can be sold by general retailers – cannot be sold to people under 18.

The study surveyed more than 600 Australians aged 12 and over who had smoked an e-cigarette in the past 30 days, finding the majority (82 per cent) used e-cigarettes that contained nicotine.

More than 150 participants aged between 12 and 17 years old reported using nicotine e-liquid, which more than half said they sourced from friends.

Smoke shops were the next biggest source (20 per cent) for that age group, followed by the internet (8 per cent).

Author, Melbourne University associate professor Michelle Jongenelis said she was surprised purchases from tobacco retailers were so high and that the industry could not be trusted to regulate vapes.

“The fact that we had 28 per cent of people who said that they sourced their product from tobacco retailers … means that these retailers aren’t that responsible,” she said.