Tag Archives: oceania

Victorian school using sensors to help stop students vaping

Schools in Victoria are installing hi-tech sensors to stop students from vaping, with an increasing number of school kids becoming addicted to nicotine without realising it.

"There is just this smell of vape all the time and it's just really gross," Year 11 student from Sacred Heart College in Geelong, Eleanor Naylor said.

The Catholic girls college is one of many across the state equipped with the vaping sensors, which aim to detect and deter kids from inhaling the harmful chemicals.

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Puff bars or disposable vapes, which come in bright colours and fruity and dessert flavours, can be appealing to children.

"We started noticing that it was coming on site and we want to keep our students safe," Sacred Heart College Deputy Principal, Catherine Gulli said.

The sensors are being installed in toilets, and alarms in them send an alert to teachers, which with the help of CCTV, can identify students who are most at risk from vape smoke.

Some educators think teenagers may have picked up vaping as a habit as a way of dealing with the lockdowns.

"They can't go an hour without vaping and it's really disruptive to their learning," Ms Gulli said.

Some students say their friends are addicted to vaping.

"[I] had a friend, she used to vape in class every now and then. We'd be working on a project, and she would just bring out her vape," Ms Naylor said.

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The sensors are being installed in toilets, and are working to identify students in Victorian schools who are most at risk from vape smoke.

Medical experts say the puff bars or disposable vapes, which come in bright colours and fruity and dessert flavours, can be appealing to children.

"It is highly sad to see some of the addictive behaviours developing in some children some as young as primary school aged," Director of the National Child Health Poll at The Royal Children's Hospital, Dr Anthea Rhodes said.

Vaping is considered a healthier option for adults who are trying to quit smoking.

But now minors are illegally buying them under the counter and some even dealing them in the school yard.

"This is the enemy. This is what's getting kids addicted. It's too high, too concentrated," Nick from The Geelong Vape Co said. Kids are buying products labelled as nicotine free, but they actually contain traces of the highly addictive substance.

A single pod of vape juice is equal to a pack of cigarettes.

Dr Rhodes says consuming nicotine can present "significant risks" to the lungs and airways of children and young teenagers.

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Some educators think teenagers may have picked up vaping as a habit as a way of dealing with the lockdowns in Victoria.

As schools are working to stop students from vaping, there are calls for vapes to be better regulated, subjected to tougher advertising laws and stamped with warning labels.

Since October, adults have been required to have a prescription to buy a vape containing nicotine.

Inquest hears Hannah Clarke told police she feared for her life before murder

An inquest has heard Brisbane mother-of-three Hannah Clarke told a police officer she feared her husband would kill her in a text message, a fortnight before her murder.

The message sent to senior constable Kirsten Kent detailed Ms Clarke's fear of her estranged husband, Rowan Baxter.

"I know given the opportunity he wouldn't hesitate to kill me, I can see it from the look in his eyes," Ms Clarke's text message read.

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A fortnight later, Baxter killed Ms Clarke and all three of their children in an arson attack.

The message also detailed a distressing Facetime call Ms Clarke had had with Baxter.

Senior Constable Kent told the inquest she had been on leave and was without reception when Ms Clarke tried to reach her.

By the time she saw the messages on February 19, 2020, Ms Clarke and her family had already been killed.

The inquest also heard of an incident involving Ms Clarke's four-year-old daughter Laianah.

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Police footage played at the inquest today showed Ms Clarke in distress after her estranged husband abducted the four-year-old and refused to return her.

"He just took off with her," Ms Clarke is heard saying in the video.

"He's playing games with me.

"[He] just called me now and said, you know, you either bring the other two back or I keep her."

Ms Clarke is then told by police they are powerless because at the time, there was no custody or domestic violence order in place against Baxter.

She told police she feared applying for an order would make matters worse.

When eventually a DVO order was in place, Baxter breached it, assaulting Ms Clarke and injuring her wrist.

The inquest was played an audio recording of communication between Baxter and police after the assault.

"I done nothing wrong," Baxter is heard saying.

The inquest will continue tomorrow.