An Oldham headteacher has spoken out in response to Rishi Sunak's plans to get rid of disposable vapes to protect children’s health.
Glyn Potts told of a previous incident where a child collapsed outside school seconds after smoking a vape that contained 12 times the amount of nicotine a cigarette holds.
The incident at Blessed John Henry Newman RC College saw the pupil hospitalised, and Mr Potts has warned that young people will die if authorities do not clamp down on the sale of vapes to children.
It comes as the Prime Minister announced today that disposable vapes will be banned in the UK as part of the government's plans to tackle the rise in youth vaping and protect children’s health.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Potts told listeners how one of his students took a puff of the vape while on the school bus.
"Two and a half years ago we had a young person who stole a vape from their big brother's bedside table," he said.
"They travelled on the school bus and in the final few seconds as the bus was pulling into the school grounds urged by his friends he took a very very large gulp of this vape pen - as he got off the bus he started to feel unwell and he collapsed.
"We know that that vape in particular had 12 times the amount of nicotine as a cigarette does, and of course that was enough to make the poor young man very, very unwell and collapse, and he had to go to hospital."
Mr Potts added: "That led us to being really conscious and suspicious of vapes but we also know that vape pens, particularly disposable pens, are being repurposed to contain cannabis and even spice and sold to young people - in a network which will hospitalise, and forgive me if we don't do anything about it, kill young people."
The Chadderton-based school has more than 1,500 pupils aged 11 to 16, and Mr Potts believes around 10 percent of them have tried an e-cigarette - while "fewer than 30" across the school frequently vape.
New powers have been brought in by the government to restrict vape flavours, introduce plain packaging and change how vapes are displayed in shops so they do not appeal to children.
New law will make it illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009, as part of the Prime Minister’s pledge to create a smoke-free generation.
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