Cameras and sensors are being installed in toilet corridors at Rangiora High School in a bid to crack down on vaping.
The growing vaping epidemic has left North Canterbury schools grappling with ways to manage it.
Rangiora High School principal Bruce Kearney said vaping had led to anti-social gatherings around bathrooms and the school was determined to stamp it out.
“Students often vape in our toilets in large groups and it can be intimidating for our students to actually use the toilets for their intended purpose.”
Cameras have been installed in the main Rakahuri building in bathroom corridors, and more cameras and sensors will be gradually installed across the school.
He said the cameras and sensors were expensive and took money away from education, but vaping had got out of hand and schools were left to manage it as best they could.
Signs are being installed to indicate to students where there are cameras and vaping sensors.
MONIQUE FORD/Stuff
Rangiora High School is cracking down on vaping. (File photo)
“We should never have got into a situation where young people are addicted to a product which is supposed to help people stop smoking.”
The school’s board of trustees chairperson, Simon Green, said he had received positive comments from students since the announcement.
“We’ve had no concerns raised around privacy so far, and they are only being placed in the corridor and not in the cubicles themselves, so there is no privacy issue.
“The sensors are pretty good at picking up when people are using the toilet for a purpose other than what is intended.”
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Rangiora High principal Bruce Kearney says the school wants to support students who are addicted to vaping.
Kearney said the school was exploring addiction programmes with the school nurse in a bid to support students addicted to vaping.
He also called on parents to get behind the school in allowing staff to “destroy” vaping products that were seized.
Kaiapoi High School principal Jason Reid said his school had investigated cameras and sensors, but found them “too costly”.
“We have enough ways of monitoring when vaping is likely to happen, and we can have those discussions.”
But he said vaping was a growing problem in schools and he had real concerns about the ongoing health risks.
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Cameras are being placed only in the corridor and not in the cubicles themselves, Rangiora High board of trustees chairperson Simon Green says.
While vaping, like smoking, was banned in schools, it was proving to be addictive, which led to anxiety, increased impulses and irritation as students craved their next hit, he said.
“We don’t know enough about the long term effects of the chemicals, but we do know that it is a highly addictive substance.
“We now have students who are looking for support to give it up.
“They are identifying that it is controlling their lives, and it impacts on how they function in the classroom.”
Reid said he would like to see vaping become a prescription only medicine for giving up smoking.
