Just Say No To Smoking & Vaping
Despite efforts to return students to the classroom safely and effectively after COVID-19, an ongoing epidemic still dominates the minds of educational administrators: student vaping. Many schools across Australia and even the world are noticing an alarming increase in students turning to e-cigarettes or vapes. Although we cannot control what happens outside the classroom nor monitor students 24/7, we can educate them to make good decisions and deter the increase where possible.
While vaping has clear health implications for students, it also impacts fellow students and staff. Particularly when done in areas with poor circulation and no air filtering, such as bathrooms and classrooms. An important step towards a healthier future is educating people about the effects of vaping. Preventive measures, however, are crucial for the health and safety of students and staff.
The help of Verkada’s Environmental Sensor which can detect vaping and smoking alike can help decrease and deter from students smoking on school grounds.
When users vape, the Verkada Vape Index spikes, which measures the likelihood of smoking or vaping happening based on a number of onboard sensors.
SMS and email alerts can be sent in real-time by administrators based on custom thresholds. Upon detection, an alert can also be sent to pre-selected faculty members and campus security, so that teams can respond as soon as possible.
A key area where vaping and smoking often occurs is in spaces like bathrooms or classrooms. This is especially the case in schools, where students will vape discreetly in places like bathroom stalls.
To ensure privacy, cameras should be placed outside of these areas and positioned at a point of entry. When reviewing events, this will allow users to see who came and went during an incident.
For non–private areas, such as classrooms, hallways or open spaces, users may place sensors and cameras in the same area at your own discretion.
For help and more information to share with those wanting to quit visit the Cancer Council Quitline.