A Manchester headteacher has issued a warning to parents after a pupil collapsed after vaping.

Glyn Potts, the headteacher at Blessed John Henry Newman RC College, said the student passed out near the school gates after his first puff of a vape pen.

According to Manchester Evening News, it was later revealed that the vape in question had been modified to contain CBD oil.

Glyn said, “We don't know what is going in the vapes themselves, and a number of them are repurposed.

"We are seeing vapes that have been reignited with chemicals and toxins that we don't know about. That's certainly the case with the young man that collapsed at our school."

The warning follows a BBC News investigation earlier in May that revealed vapes confiscated from children at a college in Kidderminster contained high levels of lead, nickel and chromium. These heavy metals can impair brain development, trigger blood clotting and exacerbate cardiovascular diseases.

He explained that many young people have a “misconception” that vaping is a safer alternative to smoking. Glyn said, "Young people need advice and information that this type of device is not safe. Even in the most simple nicotine vape, they contain 12 times the amount of nicotine that a cigarette does. I'm not sure that an 11, 12, 13-year-old body can handle that."

He added, “Everyone knows the dangers of smoking, but when smoking first arrived it was almost presented as a healthy thing to do. I think vaping has that air around it where individuals feel like there are no dangers associated with it.

"We don't know the impact of vaping - and we need that information because the reality is it is simply not a safe option for young people."

Glyn argued that a national collaboration is needed to encourage youth vapers to quit. He said, “Schools are responsible for so much now. It needs to be a joined-up approach. It needs to include what we are teaching in the curriculum alongside notifications by the NHS and youth groups as well.

"We need to give young people the option to have conversations with trusted adults so they can understand the dangers that are involved."

Recalibrating parental thinking might be the first step. Glyn said, “I think there's a misconception by some parents that vaping is safe, or vaping will stop the young person moving on to smoking, and therefore it’s relatively harmless.

“But we're actually creating nicotine-addicted young people, which is then leading to other challenges and other illnesses.

"Flavours like cherry blossom might make them more appealing - but they mean the same dangers."

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