Parents warned over vapes ‘laced with additional substances’

A head teacher has warned children are at risk of “serious harm” from vapes that could be laced with additional substances.

Three students fell ill at Westhoughton High School in Bolton after vaping and were taken to A&E earlier this month.

Head teacher Neil Coe urged parents to speak to children about the dangers of vaping and buying from “disreputable” vendors selling to those underage.

“It’s a bigger problem than most adults realise,” he said.

Mr Coe’s letter to parents came after three children, who took vapes into school undetected earlier this month, were taken to hospital by staff.

Parents of two of the children were “completely unaware that they vape at all”, with one of the students understood to have tried it for the first time, he told BBC Radio Manchester.

It is the latest in a string of vaping incidents that have seen the school’s pupils taken ill after vaping.

Mr Coe said though the issue affected a “small, but concerning minority” of the school’s 1,300 students, staff had noticed a growing problem of “potential additional substances” in vapes bought over the counter in Westhoughton.

“The reality is that young people don’t know what’s in a vape that they’re purchasing, the contents could cause serious harm.”

Efforts to crack down on vaping at the school include suspensions for those caught vaping, staff search powers and supervision outside toilet blocks, where teachers believe most of the vaping takes place.

“Vapes don’t really smell and it’s much more difficult for a school to identify,” Mr Coe said.

The head teacher said young people “by their nature want to engage in risky behaviours”, and vaping had become “endemic” in their culture.

“The challenge for us is convincing teenagers what is safe behaviour, that has always been the same, what changes is the vehicle for that risk.”