A primary school has taken action after a group of Year 6 pupils were found to be in possession of a vape on school grounds.
The incident, at St Thomas’ Church of England Primary School in Newton Street, Blackburn, happened on May 23 and was brought to the attention of the Lancashire Telegraph last week.
The school has said the incident was dealt with “swiftly” and pupils have since had talks from external agencies such as the police to warn them about the dangers of underage vaping.
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A statement from the school’s senior leadership team said: “There was an incident in school on May 23 involving a small number of Year 6 children, one of whom had brought a vape into school.
"The incident was dealt with swiftly on the day, and there has been no repeat of this behaviour.
“We have taken further action to incorporate messages around the negative health impacts of vaping into PSHE lessons with this year group.
“We have also had sessions with external agencies, including the police who came into school to talk about underage vaping, and have also built some learning into the school’s activities for Child Safety Week.
"This year group have also taken part in activities around consequences.
“We have also worked with the police to identify the shop that sold the vape to an underage child on their way to school.
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“Our actions in response to this one-off incident are in line with school policy.
"We have kept our school governors informed throughout, and they are satisfied with the way we have responded.”
Figures from NHS England show 15 cases of children aged nine or under needing to be admitted to hospital due to their use of vapes in the year to April.
This is up from 12 last year and two the year before that.
Around 40 young people in total up to the age of 19 were admitted to hospital last year due to the use of e-cigarettes.
The British Medical Association will review the potential dangers of vaping in a bid to tackle the “growing epidemic” of e-cigarette usage.
Dr Penelope Toff, chair of the BMA Public Health Medicine Committee, said: “The area of most concern is that, with their bright colours and packaging, stylised designs, sweetshop-inspired flavours and relatively inexpensive price, these products are clearly being made to appeal to children and young people.”
She said the “conclusive vote” from BMA members on the motion “shows that doctors, whose primary aim is to keep the population well and prevent harm, are rightly angry that products that are a danger to health, are being promoted to children across the UK”.
She said: “Stronger regulation is needed, in line with that for tobacco products, tailored for e-nicotine products, including plain packaging and appropriate health warnings.
“Action must be taken to stop these products being accessed by children. There is a need for further independent research into their long-term impact on both adults and children but meanwhile, urgent steps must be taken to protect people from known harms.”
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