Bannockburn P-12 College student rushed to hospital after collapsing while vaping in school toilets
- 13-year-old vaper rushed to hospital
- I was vaping in the school bathrooms
- Reportedly in a stable condition
A 13-year-old student had to be rushed to hospital after collapsing in the school bathrooms while allegedly vaping.
The incident occurred at Bannockburn P-12 College, which is located northwest of the Victorian city of Geelong, at around 8:45 a.m. Thursday.
After being taken to Geelong Hospital, the teenager was reported to be in stable condition.
The federal government announced in May that it would ban all recreational use of vaporizers in Australia, and the health minister expressed particular concern for children.
The tough laws, which are currently in the consultation stage, will mean Australians can only buy plain-pack vapes with a prescription from pharmacies, not convenience stores, gas stations or any other outlet.
A student was rushed to Victoria’s Geelong Hospital after he was found collapsed in a school bathroom while vaping (generic image pictured)
“I’m determined to eradicate this public health threat because I believe that’s what it really is,” Butler said.
‘They should only be available in therapeutic settings, which are essentially pharmacies.
“Only products that are pharmaceutical-style plain pack, plain products, are unflavoured, only those products need to enter Australia.”
As part of the big push, Butler is also preparing to ban disposable vapes, which are single-use e-cigarettes that don’t allow refills of the electronically heated liquid to produce the inhaled vapor.
Vaporizers, also known as e-cigarettes, are now available at convenience stores and tobacco outlets, as well as online sources, and come in a bewildering variety of flavors, shapes, and designs.
The minister said e-cigarettes were initially promoted among governments and health regulators as a therapeutic aid to help people quit smoking.
But he claims that vape producers are instead targeting children to take the dangerous and addictive product.
“It wasn’t sold as a recreational product aimed at our children, but that’s what it has become,” he said.
“Vaporizers are disguised as pens, USB sticks so people can take them to school and it’s having a significant effect on the health of our youngest Australians.”
He accused the producers of advertising to young people by decorating vapes with pink unicorns or giving them bubblegum flavors.
The student had to be rushed to the hospital where he is reportedly in stable condition (generic image in photo)
The incident occurred at Bannockburn P-12 College, which is located northwest of Geelong.
“This is a deliberate strategy by the tobacco industry to create a new generation of nicotine addicts and far from being a path out of cigarettes, which is how it was marketed to us, it has become a path to cigarettes for youths”. he said.
It is estimated that over a million Australians vape regularly, with one in four 18-24 year olds and one in six high school students having tried e-cigarettes.
The Minister of Health states that vaping is now “the number one behavior problem in secondary schools and is fast becoming the number one problem in primary schools”.
South Australia announced a two-month crackdown on nicotine-containing vapes sold to children in June.
Random inspections could result in $10,000 fines for retailers who fail to show that vapes they sell to underage consumers do not contain nicotine.
“This is a true public health emergency,” SA Health Minister Chris Picton said.
“We have some tough years ahead of us because we have so many young people addicted to nicotine,” added state public health director Nicola Spurrier.
Daily Mail Australia contacted Bannockburn P-12 College for comment.
Experts warn that vaping can be particularly harmful to young people because it damages DNA, promotes tumors and can cause a host of respiratory problems.
