00:02Charlotte first tried vaping at age 13.
00:06Vapes were kind of introduced really to me when I was in year 7 as well.
00:10I feel like that's the age where everyone gets introduced to them.
00:15Now in year 10 she says vapes are hard to avoid.
00:18When I got to high school it became quite normalised.
00:22Olivia, also in year 10, says vaping at school is commonplace.
00:27Whenever I go into the bathrooms, I guess, and someone offers me one,
00:30maybe I'll just have a little path.
00:32Despite being illegal, they're easy to find.
00:35Older siblings, you know, friends.
00:37It's very easy to find them on Snapchat, you know, like vape sellers.
00:41They put them on their stories, you know, like swipe up if you want to buy one.
00:45Another very popular thing is like convenience stores in the city,
00:49or just like convenience stores in general.
00:51Of the 30,000 students across the NT,
00:5483 was suspended as a result of vaping in 2025.
00:58The Department of Education says they've introduced measures
01:01like redesigning bathrooms and installing vapour sensors
01:05to try to crack down on the issue.
01:07We've always got room to keep trying to better provide information
01:12that is received by young people in a way that will have an impact.
01:16Aside from nicotine, there are concerns about other harmful substances as well.
01:21We have seen the introduction of opiates and really poisoning of vapes in other markets.
01:27One of our greatest fears is that without honest discussion,
01:30kids will try these and then end up in hospital or worse.
01:33Many of the students we spoke to expressed concerns
01:37about the long-term health impacts of vaping.
01:40They want more education to help their peers and younger students
01:44grasp the full extent of vaping-related harm.
01:47Researchers say evidence-based responses like the Our Futures Education Program,
01:52which is backed by the Federal Government, are key.
01:55Things like vape detectors in the bathrooms
01:57and these punitive responses like suspensions and expulsions,
02:01they're not highly effective.
02:03In fact, they can actually cause young people to further disengage from their education.
02:08Twelve NT schools are enrolled in the program so far.
02:17muita newans are steep in the program,
02:18they're lost inattend to very編 muito.
02:18In fact, we have not implemented any of the difficult circumstances
02:18in the country in estimation that they are applying for.
02:18It is necessarily improbable for those people.
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