State Government Supports Installation Of Detector Systems To Tackle Student Vaping

South Australian students vaping on school grounds is costing schools up to $25,000 to install detector systems to combat the ongoing problem.

The State Government has given schools the go ahead to install the silent alarms, which alerts teachers through email or text that vapour, and cigarette smoke has been detected.

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Four school so far have the system installed, costing between $15,000 to $25,000 out of the individual schools’ budget.

One school installed the HALO Smart Sensors system in 2021, while the remaining three did so in the first half of 2022. 

Education Minister Blair Boyer told the Advertiser the government supported the school’s decisions to install the devices.

“We know vaping is becoming an increasing issue among young people and enabling schools to install vaping detectors can be part of the response – but the best approach is prevention by teaching students about vaping’s health impacts, so they understand just how dangerous and addictive it really is,” he said.

“We are taking strong action to tackle this issue based on what students have told us – making sure they can make informed decisions and can get help when they need it.”

Such actions include the government investing $2.5 million to deliver preventive education programs as part of the Vaping Action Plan.

The Commissioner for Children and Young People revealed in a survey of 1,000 young people that two out of three respondents had tried vaping.

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