The vaping epidemic: schools in the front line

Welcome to issue 2 of Volume 42 of Pastoral Care in Education.

At the time of writing, there has been considerable public interest in the dangers posed by the rise in vaping among young people, fueled by attractive packaging and marketing, and facilitated by the apparent ease with which vapes can be purchased. Consequently, vaping among young people has become a significant and growing public health concern (see McConnell et al., 2017; NAM, 2018; NIH, 2022), with schools increasingly tasked with addressing its dangers as part of their already significant pastoral responsibilities.

Against this backdrop, MPs in the UK have recently backed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s proposal through the Tobacco and Vapes Bill to ban the sale of cigarettes to anyone born in or after 2009. Vaping among young people is thought to be less dangerous than smoking cigarettes (BBC, 2024) and yet the long-term health implications are not fully known. Indeed, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) has said that the UK government should ‘without a doubt’ ban disposable e-cigarettes. While research may be in its infancy in relation to the effects of vaping, Dr Mike McKean, paediatric respiratory consultant and RCPCH vice-president has claimed that ‘Youth vaping is fast becoming an epidemic among children, and I fear that if action is not taken, we will find ourselves sleepwalking into a crisis’ (BBC, 2023).

What is clear from speaking to young people themselves and their school leaders is that adolescents are increasingly turning to vaping as a more fashionable, socially acceptable, accessible and cheaper alternative to cigarette smoking. Consequently, schools have found themselves in the front line in addressing the vaping epidemic among our young people. They face the challenge of educating students about the dangers of vaping while providing support and resources for those already addicted. Many schools have begun to implement awareness campaigns and workshops to address vaping-related issues. Others are wrestling with punitive sanctions as deterrents. However, the pervasive nature of vaping culture, coupled with the bright and colourful design of vaping devices and clever marketing makes it extremely difficult for schools to monitor and control vaping behaviour effectively. Furthermore, while banning cigarette sales will further reduce tobacco use, it seems self-evident that this move could inadvertently drive even more young people towards vaping.

Schools play a crucial role in addressing this issue, but they require support from policymakers, healthcare professionals, and communities at large to effectively address the vaping epidemic. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s proposal to ban cigarette sales highlights the need for comprehensive tobacco control measures that also address more comprehensively the rising prevalence of vaping among adolescents. Once again, pastoral leaders find themselves in a challenging front line position.

In the current issue of Pastoral Care in Education we present six original research articles based on research in England, Greece, Norway and Hong Kong.

In the first article, Emily Setty reports on a project carried out in England during 2021–22 in which young people and third sector experts were engaged in co-designing guidance to support the teaching of Relationships and Sex Education (RSE), which has been a mandatory subject in most state-maintained schools in England since September 2020, and which has led to much debate (often heated). In particular, the article offers a reflection on the experiences of the author (as lead academic) and the third sector experts and what they learned about how best to resolve the challenges of designing and delivering RSE in a way that is safe, inclusive and meaningful for young people.

The second article, by Dionysios Trikoilis, is an investigation of the factors affecting adolescents’ test anxiety in Greece during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study set out to examine the impact of body image dissatisfaction and poor family communication on test anxiety during the recent pandemic, where in Greece (as elsewhere) a higher than normal proportion of young people were found to experience adverse mental health issues. The study found high levels of test anxiety (especially among girls) and discovered that there is a possible positive strong direct effect of body image dissatisfaction on levels of test anxiety. The study also found that strong family communication can play an important role in reducing test anxiety.

Moving continents from Europe to Asia, in our third article, Mark G. Harrison, Jacky King-Fai Cheung, Chloe Ka Yi Tam, Anna Susanne Cheng and Susanna Siu-Sze Yeung present an investigation of parental perceptions of school counselling in Hong Kong. Based on interviews with 27 parents in a range of local and international schools in Hong Kong, the authors found that parents were often confused about the roles of counsellors and experienced stigma and concerns about confidentiality which prevented further engagement. There were also differences noted between the perceptions of parents of children in local and international schools, with the latter expressing more positive opinions about working more closely with school counsellors. Implications to enhance parental engagement are discussed.

Returning to the England for our fourth article, Diahann Gallard reports on the positive impact that connection with a dog can have for the wellbeing of university students as they settle into life away from home for the first time. In this instance, Gallard studies the impact of a new initiative of ‘dog borrowing’ (caring for a dog belonging to someone else for a short period of time) as a form of transitional support within the university setting. Drawing on interviews with 12 students aged 18–20, the study found that the experience was overwhelmingly positive in terms of their ability to cope with the move away from home, but also helped the participating students to form stronger connections with the local community through interaction and dialogue with the dog owners.

The fifth article in our current issue by Moira Hulme, Carrie Adamson and Dominic Griffiths, explores the perspectives of young people in alternative provision within schools to aid their return to mainstream classes. Q-methodology was employed to explore pupil opinions on facilitating successful on-site reintegration. Eighteen pupils aged 13–16 participated, highlighting protective factors including the need to be seen and heard, and access to support. The research underscores the significance of pupil voice and the necessity for clearer terminology regarding inclusion. It also calls for further examination into the rise of in-school alternative provision in England, addressing gaps in official data on pupil moves.

The sixth and final article in the current issue by Charlotte Helen Haaland Hancock presents the findings of a study into Norwegian teachers’ and students’ experiences using the 171 question cards around 9 topics from New Citizens, which aim to enhance feelings of belonging among students in culturally diverse secondary classrooms. The study found that the question cards (used by small groups of students) were effective in developing communication skills as well as feelings of safety and trust in student-student relationships, boosting self-efficacy and students’ understanding of difference. Further development of such tools is recommended.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).