Dealing with vaping in schools and PSHE lessons.

We attended some brilliant CPD this week on supporting young people with vaping. Vaping is clearly an important topic within PSHE (and is included in the DFE's 2026 RSHE Guidance for Secondary Schools) and vaping is also a big issue for schools in general where many are finding them hidden in all sorts of places and paying to install detectors. 

Having attended the training it made us really think about how our resources and offer meet our aims of giving young people the information to make informed choices and know how and where to access support when they need it.

Reflecting on our lessons, I think we had too much of a focus on the 'don't vape because it will damage your health' and not enough consideration around the potential misinformation young people receive in relation to vaping, the challenges they face around actually being able to stop both in relation to the social pressures young people face and the genuine addiction to nicotine they will be experiencing and what support is available to them.

What are PSHE lessons teaching about vaping?

I did a little bit of research into what other PSHE lessons available on vaping and again, many were brilliant but had the same focus on peer pressure and health, whilst also not always being factually correct and containing misinformation such as the now disproved theory that vaping leads to Popcorn lung.

Where can I find your vaping resources?

You can find our vaping resources here.

What will Youcantknoweverything Education do in relation to vaping and PSHE?

We will be updating our resources to make sure our vaping resources reflect our aims and meet the needs of young people and their teachers. We will also be offering CPD in relation to our new vaping content and providing parental support to help all adults support young people in both never starting to vape and being able to quit if they do decide vaping isn't for them.  Many parents themselves don't know what is the best thing to do for their young person when it comes to vaping.

What should schools be doing in relation to vaping?

Whilst we all want to deter young people from vaping we need to remember that shock tactics are not successful when teaching PSHE topics and young people are usually clever enough to realise when the potential consequences are being exaggerated by teachers.

We therefore need to make sure our resources are factually accurate and highlight that -

• Whilst legal vapes appear to contain ingredients we know to be safe when used in other products, under 18s can not legally purchase these vapes and counterfeit vapes have been found to contain more dangerous ingredients.
• We do not know the long term risks of vaping and whether the vape ingredients will continue to be safe when used in this way over time.
• We know vapes have short term consequences on the body.
• Most vapes contain nicotine which research shows is likely to cause damage to a teenage brain which is still developing. 
• The vapes aimed at teenagers often contain the highest amounts of nicotine in order to get them addicted quickly and making it difficult to stop, thereby ensuring the vape companies will get to keep their money for years to come.
• Being addicted to nicotine leads the nicotine receptors in the brain to generate cravings. These cravings can make a young person anxious, fidgety and irritable and make it difficult for them to maintain concentration. 
• Quitting is possible but only if it is their choice and they have the right advice and support.
• Smoking tobacco is never a better option than vaping.