Schools across England are being forced to spend thousands of pounds on drastic measures, from cutting down hedges to installing specialist detectors, in a bid to tackle a worsening vaping epidemic among pupils. Head teachers describe the situation as a 'public health emergency', with exhausted staff dealing with addicted students and dangerous incidents involving spiked e-cigarettes.
Costly Crackdowns and Confiscated Collections
A BBC-commissioned survey of thousands of secondary school teachers reveals the scale of the response. Nearly a fifth of schools have installed expensive vape detectors, while 35% have deployed extra staff to patrol grounds. The financial strain is significant for already stretched budgets.
At Wales High School in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, head teacher Lisa McCall has a collection of confiscated vapes and refill bottles on her desk. "I don't mind how many we have, as long as we're finding them," she told the BBC. The school spent £3,000 on three vape detectors after a serious incident where a 15-year-old pupil was hospitalised from a spiked vape. "That £3,000 could have gone towards IT equipment or even a member of staff," McCall lamented, calling the measures a "total distraction" from education.
Addiction in the Classroom and Altered Landscapes
Teachers report clear signs of nicotine addiction among students. Matthew Day, a science teacher at Wales High, observes pupils becoming "fidgety and desperate to get out of the classroom." He has resorted to handing out Blu Tack to some to help them focus. A survey via the Teacher Tapp app found 52% of nearly 7,000 teachers in England consider vaping a problem in their school, though this is down from 74% in June 2024.
Some schools have taken the extreme step of physically altering their premises. Hedges are being cut down and bike shelters moved to eliminate hidden spots where pupils vape. James Stainton, a teacher at The St Lawrence Academy in Scunthorpe, says these efforts, alongside staff patrols, have had "a significant impact." One 15-year-old pupil at the school admitted to taking between 400 and 500 puffs on her vape daily.
Calls for Government Action and Parental Support
School leaders feel they are fighting a lone battle and are calling for more government support. The NASUWT teachers' union wants vapes added to a list of banned items, giving schools the right to search pupils. They have labelled the disruption to education a "public health emergency."
Pepe Di'Iasio of the Association of School and College Leaders hopes the upcoming Tobacco and Vapes Bill will help by making it harder to market vapes to under-18s. A Department for Education spokesperson said the government is "taking urgent action to tackle the worrying rise in youth vaping," citing the new curriculum and the proposed bill. However, heads like Dan Ellerby stress that schools cannot succeed alone: "You need that support from parents, from families, from the local community."
