New data shows children as young as six have been caught vaping in schools
Queensland students as young as six have been caught vaping in schools, according to new data released by the Department of Education.
A total of 522 primary school students in Queensland were recorded as having been reprimanded or suspended over vape use, including 47 children under the age of eight years old, last year.
Two of those students were in Grade 1, while 17 of them were in Grade 2.
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A total of 522 primary school students were recorded as having been reprimanded or suspended over vape use. 9News
Experts believe more could have been done to prevent the trend.
"I think this is the result of a decade's worth of lack of attention to easy access of illegal vapes," Nicola Rahman, a PhD candidate at Griffith University said.
The dangerous trend is also rife in high schools with more than 5000 Queensland students suspended last year over vape use.
A staggering 719 of them were only in Year 7.
However, based on data from semester one this year, those numbers have dropped across all age groups.
Vapes became illegal to purchase without a prescription in Australia on July 1 this year.
Yet a 9News Queensland investigation found many black markets still operating on the state's streets.
Health Minister Shannon Fentiman said she was alarmed to see the statistics in the Department of Education report.
"We have so much work to do to ensure the next generation do not get hooked on vapes," Fentiman told 9News Queensland.
"We all have to do more, parents and the community also have a role to play in communicating just how dangerous vapes can be."
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