At Nayland College we take the health and wellbeing of our students seriously and as such, we are a smokefree and vapefree school. As well as prohibiting vaping at school, we also want to educate our students and whānau around the health risks associated with vaping.

"The risks associated with long-term vaping are unknown. While vaping is less harmful than smoking it is unlikely to be totally harm free. Ideally, smokers who are vaping to quit should look to eventually stop vaping too. Scientists will not be certain for many years of any health risks associated with vaping. The Ministry of Health has a role in continuing to monitor the risk. We don’t know what is in all vaping e-liquids, as there are no safety standards in New Zealand yet for vaping products." - https://www.vapingfacts.health.nz/the-facts-of-vaping/risks-of-vaping/

Of particular concern is the way vape manufacturers are targeting young people through direct and indirect marketing strategies. These aggressive marketing techniques are pulling young people in a direction where added peer pressure can have a strong influence on students choosing to vape simply to "fit in."

If you are a young person, consider the following scenarios. And, if you're a parent or caregiver, consider how you might discuss these scenarios with your child. 

What could YOU do in the following situations to help restore or maintain the wellbeing of yourself and/ or the other person?

1. You prefer not to vape. It becomes apparent that the students in the class who vape look down on others and put down anyone they see not vaping. 
2. Your friend vapes every day. You’ve noticed that it changes their mood in which makes it difficult to work with them in class. 
3. You’ve got into the habit of vaping after school to fit in with your friends.  
4. You are hanging out with friends at a local mall that is popular with young people. A new vape shop is running a competition to attract customers - the prizes are free products, along with vouchers and other merchandising. The promotional material for the competition makes it clear they are targeting young people. 
5. A vaping product promotion pops up when you’re on social media asking you to ‘like’ their product and to take an amusing selfie using their product and post it online. 
6. You see a group of children looking into a vaping shop. They are discussing which brand of vaping product some members of their family use and why they think that is the best brand. 
7. You’re at a party and some of the ‘hard out’ vapers are pressuring you to vape. 
8. It’s lunchtime your friends are debating which brand of vaping product is the best.

For more information regarding the side effects of vaping click here: https://www.healthline.com/health/side-effects-of-vaping-without-nicotine