Spoilt for choice: A worker arranging different flavours at a vape shop in Cheras. — AZMAN GHANi/The Star
PETALING JAYA: Six students in a secondary school in Selangor were recently found vomiting by a teacher after inhaling a vape shared among themselves.
The incident earlier this month involved five students in Form Five and one in Form Two, disclosed the teacher in the school.
The teacher, who wishes to remain anonymous, shared with The Star that the group of male students had been vaping inside a classroom during recess.
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“Three students came to my room and told me they had been ‘tricked’ by another student to vape that caused them to vomit.
“The students told me that they felt sick and some vomited after using the vape.
“One of them even admitted that he punched their friend for sharing a vape with unusual ‘flavouring’,” he said.
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The teacher said that after further questioning, the students brought him to a classroom where the vape was hidden away in a cupboard.
The vape, he added, had a pungent smell, which was unlike any fruity or smoky scent that the liquid usually had.
“In the classroom, a student who was visibly ‘high’ with bloodshot eyes could not stand or walk properly.
“It seemed like he was overdosed with a substance as he kept falling asleep, but thankfully, with training from the National Anti-Drugs Agency, I tried to keep him awake so that he would not pass out,” the teacher said.
Since an illegal substance was believed to be involved, the school, said the teacher, decided to call in the police for further action.
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“The students were brought to the police station in a patrol car but the school decided not to charge the boys as this could put a dent in their record.
“If we proceed, they would have to undergo a urine test and then, they would be arrested as youth offenders and this would affect their future forever,” he said.
The teacher, however, voiced concern about where the students had been able to obtain the vape with what is believed to be an illegal substance.
“I was told by the students that they had bought the ‘flavour’ at around RM20 to RM30 per refill while a bottle of cannabis flavour is sold up to RM150.
“It is worrying that they are not only vaping but are also possibly inhaling an illegal substance.
“They are able to buy them because they have friends who have finished school and work at a vape shop,” he said.
Another challenge for the school, according to the teacher, was that there was no hefty penalty for students found vaping in schools.
“If students are found smoking, they can be caned, but vaping is different. This is why students take it lightly.
“Some students – no matter boys or girls – will bring their vape devices to school and smoke them in between classes, which is a normal occurrence,” he said, adding that there was currently a “Sistem Sahsiah Diri Murid” (personal student record or SSDM) to record disciplinary action taken against students.
The school is mulling to suspend the Form Five students but they are scheduled to sit for their SPM trials soon, which could then affect their future.
It was also revealed that the students involved had gotten into disciplinary problems before the incident.
