in the classroom
Vaping epidemic
Australia ’ s teachers need more support , expert says .
By Emilie Lauer
High schoolers who vape are more likely to miss out on classes , delay their learning and become more aggressive , creating heavier workloads for teachers , a new study has confirmed .
Researchers from Griffith University spoke with staff and students from nearly 400 schools nationwide and identified an increase in missed school days and expulsions due to vaping .
Dr Murooj Yousef , a research fellow at Blurred Minds - a vaping and drugs education initiative for Australian high schools , says relying on punitive measures to stop harmful behaviours is “ insufficient .”
“ Teachers need resources that display the research that shows , for example , vaping , lung injuries , cardiovascular diseases , different infections , seizures , nicotine , toxicity and burns , to show students that this product is not any healthy idea or better ,” she said .
Dr Yousef joined Education Review to discuss new strategies to tackle school vaping .
ER : To what extent is vaping normalised in Australian schools today ? In the past few years , schools have tackled marijuana and other drugs , but vaping just brought back nicotine addiction .
Schools are all struggling with that issue , and vaping differs from traditional cigarettes .
We know from the data that teenage vape users are increasing .
In 2017 , a national study showed that about 14 per cent of youth , sorry , had been using e-cigarettes and vapes . Last year a similar study showed that the number rose to 27 per cent .
We ’ re talking about one in three students who have tried vaping before , which is a number that is concerning specifically for schools and parents who need to educate their teens on this substance .
How important is it for schools to address this vaping issue ? Schools need to talk about vaping before it becomes a habit , as you don ’ t want teachers to have to deal with a cohort of addicted individuals .
We already hear from schools that this issue is starting to come up where students can ’ t sit still through a 45-minute or 30-minute session in the classroom because they need the hit of nicotine .
If they need their hit , they will try to get excused and go to the bathroom or somewhere else to quickly get that hit off nicotine before returning to class .
We also have to acknowledge that vaping , like smoking and alcohol consumption , brings in many other social issues that schools would like to prevent and not get into .
For example , if students don ’ t get that nicotine hit , they can become aggressive , and you ’ ll start seeing more fights , violence , and bullying at school .
How does vaping impact teachers ’ and schools ’ ability to educate students ? Vaping affects students ’ attention throughout their classroom and hurts the neurodevelopment of adolescence .
We know that if a student is to use nicotine products , including vaping and e-cigarettes , effects on their neurodevelopment and immune system is evident .
They are more likely to get sick and lose more school hours and school days because of this addiction or this behaviour .
When several students are asking to be excused or losing school days consecutively throughout the school year , teachers have to follow up with those students and ensure they ’ re up to date with the content .
They will then spend less time with the remaining cohort if they don ’ t want that kid to fall behind , which creates extra work for the teachers .
What challenges do teachers and schools face when addressing students ’ vaping ? One of the challenges is around the myth that vapes are healthier , safer , or harmless compared to traditional smoking .
We need to tackle the myth that it ’ s a harmless , more eco-friendly , or healthier product because it ’ s not .
And we know that teachers would like to be more proactive about vaping rather than waiting for students to become addicted .
Teachers have been asking for evidence-based and practical resources that are engaging .
With our resources at the Blurred Minds initiative we display the research and the evidence base that shows , for example , vaping , lung injuries , cardiovascular diseases , different infections , seizures , nicotine , toxicity and burns .
We take the student through these different pieces of evidence to showcase that this product is not any healthy idea or better .
They need to understand that just because it smells or tastes better and is packaged in a nicely coloured device does not make it a safe option .
16 | educationreview . com . au