Vaping in School

Vaping, which was introduced in the United States market in about 2007, according to the CDC, has become a popular recreational drug for teenagers.

In Idaho, according to an article recently published by Idaho PBS titled ‘Be Smart, Don’t Start’ campaign urges Idaho youth to KNOW VAPE, one in five students say they vape or have tried vaping.

Vapes are electronic cigarettes that use a battery to heat a liquid solution to a high temperature, which produces an aerosol that one inhales. Most vapes contain nicotine and other cancer-causing chemicals and metals. Health experts believe that vaping can cause brain, bone, and lung damage in developing bodies.

In 2015, a United States company, JUUL started producing vapes. In 2021, that same company was ordered to pay $438.5 million to 34 states and territories, including Idaho, for illegally marketing their product to children. You must be 21 to legally vape in Idaho.

As of February 2020, a total of 2,807 EVALI (E-cigarettes, Vaping Associated with Lung Injury) cases, typically associated with vaping, have been reported in the United States and its territories. 68 deaths were also reported.

Michael Joseph Blaha, M.D., M.P.H., director of clinical research at the Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease, said, “These cases appear to predominantly affect people who modify their vaping devices or use black market modified e-liquids. This is especially true for vaping products containing THC,” Blaha said. (THC is the psychoactive constituent of cannabis).

The CDC has identified vitamin E acetate as a chemical of concern among people with EVALI. Vitamin E acetate is a thickening agent often used in THC vaping products, and it was found in all lung fluid samples of EVALI patients examined by the CDC.

The CDC recommends that people do not use THC-containing e-cigarettes or vaping products, that they avoid using friends, family, or online dealers to obtain vaping devices, and that they don’t modify or add any substances to vaping devices that are not recommended by the manufacturer.

The CDC also says there has been a steep decline in the number of EVALI cases since September 2019, and they think it is for the following reasons: an increased awareness of the risks associated with THC-containing e-cigarettes, the removal of E acetate from some vaping products, and law enforcement actions related to illegal products.

Research from The Johns Hopkins University on vape ingredients published in October 2021, reveals thousands of chemical ingredients in vape products, most of which are not yet identified. Among those the team could identify were several potentially harmful substances, including caffeine, three chemicals never previously found in e-cigarettes, a pesticide and two flavorings linked with possible toxic effects and respiratory irritation.

Blaha said, “That while we don’t know exactly what chemicals are in e-cigarettes, there is almost no doubt that vaping exposes you to fewer toxic chemicals than smoking cigarettes.” Cigarettes have over 7,000 chemicals, but scientists have had decades to study the effects of smoking cigarettes and little time to investigate the effects of vaping.

Some health professionals tell of smokers who have attempted to quit smoking by switching to vaping; some have succeeded and even eventually quit vaping, but many more end up by continuing to smoke and vape as well.

Idaho Public Television has launched a “Know Vape” campaign on social media aimed at youth, featuring dozens of Idaho teens and tweens, stressing the harmful effects of vaping and the importance of preventing the use of e-cigarettes. They also aired ‘Nic Sick: The Dangers of Youth Vaping’, a documentary on February 12th, which followed teens as they told with heartbreaking authenticity about how and why they started vaping and the consequences that followed.

Their campaign is a peer-to-peer campaign, which is typically more successful than adults lecturing kids on what they should or should not do.

According to Brian Joyce, Dean of Students for the Council School District, the district felt that vaping was enough of a problem for the district to install vape detectors.

“We have installed vape sensors in our bathrooms and locker rooms which can detect the chemical signature of vapes. This has been effective at stopping vaping from occurring in those places. How it works is if the vape sensor goes off, it sends an alert to our accounts. We can then review the cameras and see who has been using the bathroom. We then search bags and pockets for vapes. This has been effective at catching a couple of kids who have brought vapes. Otherwise, either teachers or staff will have to see it or smell the vape to catch it. Once a vape has been found on a student, parents and the police will be called and the student will be issued a citation,” he said.

According to Adams County Sheriff Ryan Zollman, if his department is called into a school because of a student caught vaping, they will issue a citation which would cost the offender $74. The same fee would be owed for a citation issued by the Washington County Sheriff.

Council Health Teacher Sierra Clagg said that she covers the topic of vaping in both her 8th and 10th grade health classes.

In Cambridge, Superintendent Anthony Butler, who’s been in his position five years, said they haven’t seemed to have had a problem with vaping, but they have installed vape detectors in the school’s bathrooms, using the school’s own funds.

“We are looking for grant funding to pay to install vape detectors in the locker rooms,” he said.

The penalties for those found vaping who play sports at Cambridge varies. If a student is on one team, he or she may have to sit out four games; if they are on a different team, they may have to sit out two games.

Keith Davis, who teaches health in Cambridge, said that he covers the topic in the classes he teaches.

Meadows Valley Superintendent Dee Fredrickson said, “There is concern about any activities that can lead to long term health consequences, which includes vaping. Because use of vapes is illegal for school age students, anyone found in possession is referred to the Adams County Sheriff’s Department.”

She added that this year, health classes are taken via IDLA (Idaho Digital Learning Alliance), but that they also have guest speakers who share the effects of vaping with Meadows Valley Students.

The Midvale School Policy Manual states that parents and law enforcement will be notified for any student found with a vape. The district has different punishments for different grades and for repeat offenses.

Tyler Waggoner, who teaches 8th and 10th grade health said, “I cover the topic of vaping along with a culminating project of students making “awareness” signs along with a slideshow presentation of the negative side effects. I teach a lot about how a company’s marketing plans are geared towards targeting teenagers.”

Sergeant Jamie Rebman, with the Washington County Sheriff’s Department, said that as part of Red Ribbon week (a week that promotes student awareness of the effects of drugs and alcohol) she has given talks to the students for the past three years at both Midvale and Cambridge, emphasizing that if a student is issued a citation for vaping, it is possible they may not be able to get into the college they wish to attend or get the job they had wanted.

You can visit Idaho Public TV’s official information page for the ‘Know Vape’ campaign at: www.idahoptv.org/shows/specials/knowvape/home.