By DAVID HILL, Reporter for Local Democracy
Pupils at Woodend School are taking action to prevent young people from becoming addicted to vaping.
Student leader Jasper Rosewarne
(12) launched a petition after a vape shop, Hukka Woodend, recently opened across the street from the school.
“When I heard that a vaping store was opening across from our school, I didn’t like it because I don’t want young people to be exposed to vaping,” he says.
The student leaders contacted Jasper’s father, Labor List MP Dan Rosewarne and Waimakariri MP Matt Doocey for advice.
They plan to present the petition to Waimakariri Mayor Dan Gordon, calling on the owner of the vape shop to take steps to protect youth in the community.
The students suggested closing the shop when children are going to and from school, no signage on School Road opposite the school, merchandise locked up where young people cannot see and no outdoor seating for young people to hang out.
The shop’s advertised hours were 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The sale and supply of vape products has an age restriction of 18 years, but local schools say large numbers of their students have been exposed to it.
Earlier this month, the Waimakariri District Council expressed concern over the lack of regulation around vaping and the lack of enforcement of the age restriction.
Mr Rosewarne says he has visited the shop and tried to arrange a meeting with the shop owner but has not yet received a reply.
Mr Doocey says the community didn’t want a vape shop near the school but felt powerless to stop it.
He called for legislation restricting the number of vape shops and where they can be located.
Rangiora High School principal Bruce Kearney says vaping is a bigger problem for schools than “smoking ever was.”
Smokers were easy to spot because there was smoke and you could smell it on their breath.
“But with vaping, it’s almost impossible to catch people, and some vapes look like a highlighter.”
Vaping caused anti-social behaviour, as students gathered around toilets and prevented others from entering.
Given the age restriction, Mr. Kearney wondered how his students got their hands on vapor products.
“I have no idea how they got it, but someone is breaking the law.”
But he noted that when students were caught vaping, “90 percent of the time the parents are fully aware of their vaping habits.”
Kaiapoi High School principal Jason Reid says that while vaping was less harmful than tobacco, there are too many unknowns when it comes to the long-term effects.
“The teen brain is very malleable, it is still developing and nicotine, like any other psychoactive substance, can have significant negative effects on this process.”
He called for regulations to make vapes “taste-free” and as a prescription drug to help people quit smoking.
Rangiora New Life School principal Stephen Walters says his school is working with parents of students who have become addicted to vaping.
“As a chemistry teacher with knowledge of chemicals and their effects, I am deeply concerned about the chemicals that growing young lungs are exposed to.”
A spokesperson for Hukka Woodend said the store had a strict policy that no one under the age of 18 was allowed to enter the store, even with a parent or guardian.
There was no signage on School Road, but there were signs facing Main North Road and no seating outside the shop. Hukka Woodend has not promoted any of its products, following guidelines from the Vaping Regulatory Authority, the spokesperson said.
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