Government consultation around vaping in schools

In order to abate this problem, over a quarter of parents (27%) would like to see fixed term suspensions introduced in schools in order to deter vaping amongst students.

Whilst one in ten parents has seen communications from their child’s school to pupils around the dangers of vaping, just 9% cite that their child’s school has a clear and well communicated policy in place around the consequences of the practice.

Some schools are clearly taking action - 3% of parents have said their child has been suspended from school for vaping in the last three years and a further 2% have been expelled. However, this has far reaching impacts on children.

Alongside the impact on children, previous research from Zurich Municipal explored vape disposal methods which revealed there are three dumped every second. This has led to 107 million thrown away in general waste every year.

Almost three out of four vape users are completely unaware as to how they should safely dispose of these devices while a similar number have no idea vapes contain lithium batteries. Laid end to end, the number of disposable vapes thrown away incorrectly in the UK every week would circle all 117 miles of the M25.

Alix Bedford, a risk expert at Zurich Municipal, said:

“We are very pleased to see the launch of today’s consultation. As one of the largest private insurers of schools and public sector organisations, the use of vapes has far reaching implications for our business, in addition to the horrifying health risks to our children.

“The growing popularity of vapes has by far outstripped the infrastructure around health, safety and environmental implications across so many sectors. It’s important we support and guide our schools to implement consistent measures to deal with these issues, many do already have protocols in place but it seems like there is a long way to go.

“When it comes to fire risks, councils have long battled the nuisance of cigarette litter, single use vapes are emerging as an altogether more complex and hazardous problem. Flammable lithium batteries inside vapes pose a hidden danger to waste and recycling workers and are causing costly damage and disruption to waste management services as well as in our schools.”

Notes to editors

Research carried out by One Poll for Zurich Municipal across 1,000 UK parents of under 18’s in June 2023.