WILL STUDENTS REPORT THEIR FRIENDS?
Students have also been caught off guard by the intensity of the measures, but Secondary 3 student Bidelia Lai said she would not report her friends if they were vaping. The 15-year-old was unsure if she would even bring it up with them.
“It doesn’t affect me, so I don’t really care as long as I don’t smell it during class,” she said, adding that there were rumours that two students from her school were caught vaping in the school toilet by the principal a few months ago.
She doubts that tougher enforcement will stop students entirely. Instead, it may motivate them to hide their habit more carefully, she said.
On Thursday, the government also announced higher fines for vape users and caning for those who bring in etomidate that took effect on Sep 1, part of a suite of harsher penalties for both abusers and suppliers.
Bidelia’s mother, Ms Karen Lai, said she supports the new penalties.
“Hopefully it will deter not only the kids from taking it, but also deter those who are peddling it to the children from doing so,” she said.
The 49-year-old, who has two other children aged 18 and 20, noted that many kids start vaping out of curiosity. “I’m sure kids are curious, especially if their friends say ‘just try’, so they just try it.”
She said her oldest son encountered peers who vaped when he was in secondary school, so she knows the issue is widespread.
Lucas Chung, a Secondary 1 student, said some students keep vaping devices in their pockets or use them in toilets. Several have been caught in school.
“Some kids almost got arrested, there were police showing up at the school,” said the 12-year-old.
After teachers warned students about the health and legal risks, and seeing the punishments meted out to those who got caught, some of his friends have stopped vaping, Lucas said.
He added that he has not personally seen his friends vaping, so he has not reported any incidents.
While he believes that vaping is wrong, he has not broached the subject with his friends who keep the habit. “I don’t want to make it awkward,” he said.
Dyuthi Bhatt, a 14-year-old student at the School of the Arts, said she was shocked to hear about the new measures in schools.
“It’s something that I expect in high security areas like airports and checkpoints. And using these measures in schools made me realise how serious the situation is throughout Singapore, especially in schools, because they are really attracted to vaping,” she added.
She has not heard of any vaping incidents at her school. But if she found out a classmate was vaping, Dyuthi said she would try to talk to them about it before reporting them.
“I’m not doing it to snitch on them, but if not, they might cause irreparable damage to themselves. Counselling and detention might help before they end up hospitalised,” she added.
