Important Vaping Information
Dear Parents, Guardians and Students,
The health and well-being of our students is always a top priority for us. You may be aware that we recently received some concerns about students using e-cigarettes. In our conversations with our students and parents/guardians, we have discovered a lack of clarity around the possible adverse health effects of e-cigarettes and vaping. We would like to take this opportunity to inform parents/guardians that vaping is not permitted in school. In terms of school rules, using e-cigarettes/vaping would be categorised together with smoking and alcohol. As such, students should not bring any type of e-cigarettes in to school or use them on the way to or from school.
It seems that students are currently easily able to buy e-cigarettes. There are a variety of different styles available and some are no bigger in size than a thumb-drive; others resemble a small hard drive or power bank. The liquid used in e-cigarettes appeals to children as there are lots of different flavours available. While these e-cigarettes may therefore seem harmless, some liquid for e-cigarettes does involve inhaling nicotine. As these products are being manufactured at a rapid rate, the science on the devices and liquids have not been able to keep up. Therefore, regulations on the components of these e-devices and liquids are not stringent. For example, we know very little about the effects of inhalation of some of the chemicals.
We encourage parents to speak with their children about e-cigarettes. The pastoral team at SIS will be speaking to all year levels to highlight the negative impact on health and to remind students of our school rules.
Any paraphernalia associated with vaping found in school will be confiscated and parents will be required to come to school to collect items, if they wish to retain them.
We very much appreciate the support of our parents in raising this with us. It can often be difficult to keep up-to-date with everything that our children are being exposed to. Working together is definitely the best way to ensure we keep them safe and well informed about their lifestyle choices.
We have included some information below for those parents interested in knowing more about these products.
Listen to this podcast to learn what you should know about vaping and e-cigarettes.
The American Lung Association has various resources for parents, students and staff members on e-cigarettes. Here are some articles:
https://www.lung.org/assets/documents/stop-smoking/e-cigarettes-teens.pdf
https://www.lung.org/assets/documents/stop-smoking/e-cigarettes-parents.pdf
https://www.lung.org/assets/documents/stop-smoking/e-cigarettes-schools.pdf
SCMP also has a comprehensive article which discusses the future of e-cigarettes in terms of Hong Kong’s legislation.
