In recent years, vaping has become more prevalent among children and young people both in the UK and around the world. Due to its highly addictive nature and rising popularity, it is fast becoming a major source of conflict not only in schools but also in households and services.
This troubling trend not only presents a catalogue of potential health concerns but can also lead to confrontation between young people and the adults who support or care for them, such as parents, carers, and teachers.
The challenge for us as practitioners is: how can we reduce conflict with children and young people around vaping? While punitive, reactive approaches such as installing vape alarms in toilets, excluding students from school, or introducing vaping bans may appear to ‘work’ in the short term, we need to consider solutions that will be effective in the longer term.
Vaping can detrimentally impact many areas of children and young people’s lives, both within and beyond the classroom.
In some schools, students leave lessons to vape, which can disrupt their own and others’ learning, and could adversely affect academic outcomes due to missed learning. Nicotine, the main component of most vapes, can affect concentration, mood, and attention, meaning that students who vape regularly can struggle with focus, and may engage in behaviour that needs support.
For some children and young people, vaping can be an act of defiance or rebellion, creating and exacerbating a sense of ‘them and us’ with the adults around them. Left unchecked, this can lead to unhelpful power struggles, escalating conflict, and feelings of resentment and misunderstanding.
And, of course, there are the numerous health implications to consider. As vapes are a comparatively new phenomenon, there is not yet extensive data around the long-term effects. However, research has shown a link between vaping and heart disease, lung damage, organ failure, and dementia, as well as impaired memory, anxiety, and depression.
It is clear that vaping can have a range of adverse consequences for children and young people, affecting not only their behaviour and relationships, but also their physical and mental health and wellbeing.
However, only by understanding the underlying reasons for vaping can we devise the most effective strategies for supporting those in our care and reducing conflict.
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