Debate contribution: Vaping: Dangers to Children

Debate contribution by Miss Deirdre Hargey on 22 October 2024.

MLA

Miss Deirdre Hargey

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

22 October 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Vaping: Dangers to Children

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4608566

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thanks to everybody for taking part in this important debate. I thank the Minister for being here. As has been said by most Members, vapes and e-cigarettes are still being researched to fully understand their implications. As we move through, we can see those implications in our communities and, importantly, in our schools. From the health research that has been done, we know that vapes are highly addictive. As has been said, more than one in five 11- to 16-year-olds has tried them. We know that the problem is not unique to this place. Indeed, increased usage of such devices by our children and young people is a global issue that we are all grappling with. There have been many questions about how the devices are marketed. Many believe that the packaging and the flavours aim to entice and attract young people to use them. Given the recent health advice that children should not use vapes, it is highly concerning that children who have never smoked are using them. They are going straight to vapes, which is a concerning development. What is also concerning for children and young people is that, in many schools, we see the use of vapes that contain illicit substances that are synthetically made in factories.

We know, from other illicit substances, that they are higher in potency and that their safety and impact cannot be verified; indeed, the substances that go into them cannot be verified. Ultimately our children and young people are inhaling those substances. Some young people have had to be admitted to hospital for treatment. Our concern is that we will start to see deaths because they do not know what they are taking, they do not know what is in them, and, importantly, they do not know their potency.

It is fair to say that the issue is a societal one; there is no doubt about that. We must first look at the health implications and how trauma and social disadvantage play into the overall issue. For that reason, we must ensure that, from a prevention point of view, there is a cross-departmental approach and that we look at the intersectionality of the issue. It is right that the Education Minister is here, but we need to understand what engagement he is having with the Health Minister and, importantly, the Justice Minister to take a rounded view of all these things. It is also important to hear what we are doing to build support and capacity at a community level, because we increasingly hear frightening stories from parents, communities and, as the proposer of the motion said, many principals who have to deal with vapes in a school environment. It is something that they probably never thought they would have to deal with, and now they do. What engagement is the Minister having with the other Departments. What support and advice is being given to principals? What capacity and support can schools be given to have wider engagement with local communities? I will give one example from my community in the Market area. Two weeks ago, they launched a community toolkit called "Amplify", which looks at how to build healthy communities and tackle substance use and trauma at a community level, working with Queen's Communities and Place, the local community organisation and, importantly, the schools. One of the key issues is that the school struggles with how it can be supported and how it can have the resources to engage in the important conversations that are taking place. I use that one community as an example and ask the Minister to look at the Amplify project, because it is very much being led by children and young people in that community and schools in that vicinity want to engage in it. It is one example that the Department of Education could lift and use, with the support of Queen's University as a local learning institution that is looking at the issues in the broadest sense. I welcome the debate and am keen to hear the response from the Minister.

678 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:28 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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