No-vaping signs to be posted across schools in Aotearoa

Primary and secondary schools, along with early childhood centres, must display no-vaping’ signs with their no-smoking’signs immediately, the Ministry of Health has announced.

The decision follows updates to the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act to prioritise the health and wellbeing of New Zealanders, especially tamariki.

Since November last year, the act has prohibited smoking and vaping on school grounds, but students and staff across Auckland say vaping is still a problem for New Zealand youth.

“Everyone sees it as cool and doesn’t see the harm in it, like back in the day when smoking was new,” says Henderson High School senior Jesse Scwenke.

The changes to the act mean schools are required to take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure their premises stay smoke-free.

Jesse says there is no proactive approach to prevent students from smoking – there is only a reliance on students’ common sense to not smoke at school.

“There’s an increase in students vaping. They’re told it’s healthier,” he says.

Although purchasing e-cigarettes and vapes are restricted to adults, Jesse says students are getting their hands on them through parents and caregivers.

Amelia Tapp, a senior student at Epsom Girls Grammar, says students use vaping as a coping mechanism for stress and other things happening in their lives.

An anonymous Year 12 student from Western Springs College says teachers have prohibited groups of students from entering the school bathrooms over vaping concerns.

The student claims only one person from each class is allowed in at one time, resulting in students having to line up to wait during valuable class time.

Additionally, some experts believe anti-smoking signs can have the opposite effect. A 2010 Yale study found that anti-smoking imagery can trigger cravings, akin to Dostoevsky’s white bear problem – “try not to think of a polar bear, and you will see that cursed thing will come to mind every minute”.

Rangitoto High School, Takapuna Grammar, Western Springs and Westlake High School has been approached for comment.