The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) said it was concerned with the perceived rise in the number of young children caught in possession of e-cigarettes in schools.
Cape Town - Any pupil caught smoking e-cigarrettes on school premises could find themselves in hot water, as the principal at Marine Primary School in Ocean View cautioned parents that incidents will be dealt with in the same manner as bringing an illegal substance to the school.
Pupils are buying “vapes” (e-cigarettes) in the community and bringing them to school premises, according to the school.
In a letter to parents last week, the principal of the school, Wayne Lawrence, said although vapes were not tobacco cigarettes, they were not allowed on school premises.
Pupils at the school are said to be paying between R85 and R100 to buy the vapes from the community.
“Should any learner be caught in possession and/or using vapes on the school premises, it will be dealt with in the same manner as bringing an illegal substance to school. Parents, please speak to your children and report any adult that sells these products to children,” said Lawrence.
The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) said it was concerned with the perceived rise in the number of young children caught in possession of e-cigarettes in schools.
“While our safe schools reports indicate that there have been five cases of e-cigarettes possession or use on schools between January and September 2022, compared to one case in the same period last year, these statistics are not generally an accurate reflection of the use and possession of e-cigarettes in schools.
Therefore, the age of ‘vape’ use in schools is not known, nor necessarily reported,” said WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond.
“School governing bodies are encouraged to ensure that the use of e-cigarettes/vapes is considered in their codes of conduct, if they have not already done so.”
Ocean View CPF chairperson Mansoer Ismail said they have engaged with the principal of the school on the issue.
“He confirmed he sent the letter to parents. He fears that if he allows it, the children will bring cigarettes and drugs to the school premises. He confiscated three of the items from the learners. We are a gang-infested area, that is a problem for us, also in our schools. But we are going to take this further up with the police and they must deal with this,” he said.
Patric Solomons, director of NPO Molo Songololo, said the matter should not to be taken lightly.
“Selling cigarettes to minors is a criminal offence and so it must be a criminal offence to sell electronic cigarettes to minors... parents and community members must report those who sell these products to children, the police must investigate, and those responsible must be prosecuted, fined or jailed,” he said.
Cape Times
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