From the Director of Student Culture & Character Development
VAPING
Please ensure you read Mr Laffin’s communication to you all via email regarding a significant incident that occurred at School last week relevant to this topic. In the previous Pulse I began the conversation regarding Vaping in our community by attaching an information poster on the topic. In this newsletter I wish to include a summary of information from the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne (rch.org.au)
Health Risks of Vaping (e-cigarettes)
Most vapes contain nicotine, a highly addictive substance especially for teens. Sometimes, the labelling or advertising implies that they are nicotine free, but this is not always the truth. One e-liquid pod can contain as much nicotine as an entire packet of tobacco cigarettes.
Nicotine exposure during the teenage years can harm brain development. (Humans are one of those rare species on the planet who are not born with a fully developed brain – for males this development ends around 32 years and for females around 25 years). It can impact learning, memory and attention, and increase the risk for future addiction to other drugs.
E-liquids can poison children due to swallowing or skin contact. Symptoms of nicotine poisoning include sweating, dizziness, vomiting and increased heart rate. Young children can die from exposure to small amounts of nicotine. If you think your child has been exposed to significant amounts of nicotine you should immediately seek medical assistance.
Vape cigarettes can also lead to lung disease and consequent death. Statistics in the US for this type of response are rising in long term users.
Regulation of Vapes
The Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration has not tested e-cigarettes, so they should not be considered a safe product. Your child can very easily purchase them online – a disposable vape containing 600 draws costs $20.00. As the product is not regulated in Australia, there are no production standards, meaning they made anywhere in the world and can contain anything in a range of quantities. These vapes are made with fun flavours so it is clear that they are marketing to children.
Please have conversations with your young people about vapes in the same way you would speak with them about cigarettes and illegal drugs. We need to educate our children together to ensure that BMGS becomes a vape free zone. Feel free to contact me via email (jhaines@bmgs.nsw.edu.au) if you have any concerns or you need any assistance with your young person.
Stand Tall
BMGS – Year 9 students will be attending the 2022 Stand Tall Event on 8th June.
Year 9 parents should have received an email informing them of this excursion. Please return the appropriate portion of the permission note as instructed in the email
They are mums who had the desire to see change in the next generation by providing young students with hope for their future. Jeanine and Angela set about creating a unique one-day TEDx style event which has the ability to get cut-through with teenagers and change their mind sets - and ultimately the course of their lives.
From humble beginnings in 2013 where 1,200 secondary students sat in a school hall to hear inspiring stories of hope from a diversity of speakers, the success of this first event triggered a new way of providing effective wellbeing lessons to secondary students. Stand Tall has now become the largest youth event of its kind in Australia, experiencing exponential growth over the last eight years. Student cohorts, from a range of schools (generally years 8 to 11), gather in the massive ICC Sydney theatre to hear messages of hope from speakers who have either faced major adversities, or set themselves incredible goals and have then gone on to lead amazing lives.
Mrs Jaqueline Haines
From the Director of Student Culture & Character Development