Tobacco & Vapour Free Schools

Under the Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act all public and private kindergarten to Grade 12 schools in BC are required to be tobacco and vapour free. 

This means all tobacco and vapour products, are not allowed on school property at any time, even when school is not in session.

Tobacco and vapour free schools support families to adopt and maintain a healthy lifestyle and help schools take a health-promoting approach to tobacco and vapour reduction.

Vapour Product Resources

Vapour Product PowerPoint Presentation

• Purpose: The purpose of the presentation is to increase basic knowledge of vapour products and provide the best evidence available to date with respect to their potential harm to health.
• Audience and Customizing: This presentation is designed for a general audience which can include school, community or municipal audiences. The presentation consists of nearly 50 slides and notes pages of which users may edit by including or excluding slides to meet the specific needs of their target audience.
• Data: This presentation contains national and provincial data.

Vaping and Smoking Resources for Schools

• A list of resources about vaping and tobacco to increase the knowledge of educators and parents and help guide youth towards making informed decisions. Resources include classroom lesson plans, workshops, fact sheets, information for parents and support to quit smoking and vaping. 

Healthy Schools BC

Healthy Schools BC works with partners from the health and education sectors, and with those from the broader community, to support students to develop healthy habits that will last a lifetime. 

A healthy school is a place where students have many opportunities – in the classroom, and in every aspect of their school experience – to foster their healthy physical, mental, social and intellectual development.

Ceremonial use of tobacco

The ceremonial use of tobacco is exempted from the ban on tobacco use in schools if the ceremonial use is approved by the school board and it is performed in relation to a traditional indigenous activity.