Students deceive in order to buy them "online". The Code of Conduct punishes them by suspending them from studying temporarily.

"E-cigarettes" in school bags.. and demands to tighten control

• Student smoking or possession of smoking tools is a behavioral violation.

  Emirates today

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Finally, smoking "electronic cigarettes" has spread among school students in different educational classes, inside or outside the school walls, prompting parents to demand the need to tighten control over students and search their bags, to prevent this bad habit among them.

The Knowledge and Human Development Authority in Dubai confirmed that private schools in the emirate implement clear policies to ensure the health and safety of students in order to reduce bad habits and behaviors, while the Student Behavior Management Regulation indicated that a student smoking inside the school, or possession of smoking tools, is a behavioral violation that requires taking action. Escalating procedures against him, amounting to suspending him from school for three days and transferring him to another school.

Two doctors warned of the danger of smoking electronic cigarettes by school students and young people, as they expose them to serious health complications in the short and long term, calling for a ban on selling them without presenting the identity card, and for tightening parental control over the children.

They explained that many school students resort to buying electronic cigarettes over the Internet, through the credit cards registered for their families, to circumvent the ban law for those under the age of 18, stressing the need to fully supervise children's electronic purchases.

In detail, Mona Diab (a student’s mother) said, “Smoking is a bad and dangerous habit. Many students used to practice it secretly, away from the eyes of parents or teachers.

However, electronic cigarettes made it easier for them to practice them in schools or anywhere else, and the biggest problem is that students imitate each other in such bad habits, which makes us afraid that our children will slip into this habit.

She added that she learned from her son that the school administration searches students' bags from time to time to ensure that they do not carry electronic cigarettes.

Kholoud Ahli (the mother of two students) said that the school administration of her two sons searches students she suspects of carrying "electronic cigarettes" in their bags or pockets, adding that "this step is commendable by the school because it preserves our children."

And she added that smoking with "electronic cigarettes" is not limited to students, as this habit is also common among female students, in different educational classes, whether in public or private schools, stressing that she herself witnessed female students practicing this bad habit.

Aziza Ahmed (a student’s mother) said, “Many students want to smoke out of imitation, or out of curiosity to know the pleasure their fellow smokers get, and sometimes to prove that they are no less daring than them.

But they can't because they can't carry a pack of cigarettes and a lighter in the school bag.

Therefore, electronic cigarettes are an ideal solution for them.

Abeer Al-Sayed (a student's mother) stated that smoking in school is not new today, as some students, male or female, smoked before the "Covid-19" pandemic, by using electronic cigarettes.

And she called for tightening control over students, and checking them thoroughly when entering the bathrooms, to prevent the spread of smoking among students.

Muhammad Omar (a student’s father) confirmed that searching students inside the school contributes to keeping them from engaging in bad behavior, calling on school administrations to take decisive decisions to prevent the spread of smoking among their walls, including assigning school supervisors to monitor students’ behavior, and to put devices Smoke sensor in the bathrooms.

And «Emirates Today» monitored, during its tour of the shops that sell smoking supplies, a sign hanging on the doors of a number of them, bearing the phrase “It is forbidden to sell to people under 18 years old.”

Workers in these shops said that the police prevent the sale of any smoking accessories, whether cigarettes or electronic cigarettes, to those under 18 years of age. However, in many cases we cannot know the exact age of the buyer because some students appear older than their real age.

Student Mustafa Alaa, in the 11th grade, said that students in his school smoke "electronic cigarettes", clearly outside the school, because they are safe from school supervision.

He added, "I noticed while entering the bathroom at the school that there was electronic cigarette smoke, and this matter was repeated to me more than once, and then I told the supervisor, so he decided to tighten control over the students to detect smokers."

Student Muhammad Kamal, in the seventh grade, said: “I went with one of my classmates to buy an (electronic cigarette) from a store that sells smoking supplies, but the seller in the store refused to respond to him, because he was young, and after we left the store we went to a grocery store in the Nuaimiya area. And we got electronic cigarettes.”

A secretary in one of the schools, who refused to be named, said, "Smoking among students exists, but outside the school."

He added, "The procedure followed in the event that a student is caught smoking inside the school, according to the student behavior regulations, is to summon his guardian to sign a pledge not to repeat this act again."

In response to a question by «Emirates Today», the Knowledge and Human Development Authority in Dubai confirmed that «all private schools in the emirate apply clear policies to ensure the health and safety of students at all times, spread awareness in the school community, and enhance the quality of life of students at various levels in order to reduce One of the wrong habits and behaviors », stressing the importance of integrating the role of the family and the school to ensure the health and safety of students as a top priority for all of us.

According to the Student Behavior Management Regulations, a student's smoking inside the school or possession of smoking tools, whether an electronic cigarette or something else, is a behavioral violation that requires several measures to be taken against him, starting with deducting four degrees from his behavior, the first written warning, and his guardian signing a pledge not to Repeating the violation and working to modify his son’s behavior, studying the individual case of the student by the academic advisor or social worker, then observing the student’s behavior and undergoing guidance sessions.

The regulations indicated that if the violation was repeated for the first time, eight degrees would be deducted from his grades, and he would be temporarily suspended, not exceeding two days, with assignment of academic duties, presentation to the School Behavior Management Committee, issuance of a written warning against the violating student and his guardian, and the implementation of a set of strategies. to modify his behaviour.

In the event that the violation is repeated for the second time, the student will be suspended from one to three days and assigned to study duties, and a final warning will be issued against him, then he will be transferred disciplinaryly to another school, in the event that his behavior is not moderate.

For his part, Consultant Respiratory Diseases and Asthma, member of the Emirates Medical Association, Dr. Bassam Mahboob, stated that students smoking electronic cigarettes is more common among students of both sexes from the beginning of the seventh grade.

He explained that it relies on unregulated and unknown chemicals mixed with different flavors that are popular with smokers, where it is possible to hide under them and not reveal the smoking status, while these substances have caused, in America and other countries, cases of pulmonary failure and death among adolescents.

And he stressed the need to intensify awareness and control campaigns on the sale of these products, and prohibit their sale without an identity card, to ensure the age of the smoker, and also called for more parental supervision of children in general.

Mother's electronic cigarette

Consultant dermatologist, assistant professor at the Mohammed bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dr. Anwar Al-Hammadi, warned against smoking electronic cigarettes by school students, pointing out that they may cause burns and yellowing of the skin, in addition to their risks to the lung and health in general.

He confirmed that it was observed that students were defrauded to buy electronic cigarettes online through electronic stores, to avoid the ban on selling to persons under the age of 18, calling on parents to tighten control over their children's electronic purchases to ensure that they do not buy things that may harm their health.

Al-Hammadi stated that “one of the teachers told him that she had seized an electronic cigarette from a student at the school.

When her mother went back to inform her of the incident, she was surprised that her response was to pray for the daughter... because she had taken over her cigarette.

She complained to the teacher that she searched for the cigarette for several hours and did not find it.” He pointed out that “the mother dealt with the incident very lightly and irresponsibly.

He added, "Many people believe that electronic cigarettes are safer than others, but this information is inaccurate, as it harms health in general, and exposes its user to dangerous effects in the short and long term."

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