TOP STORY OF THE DAY: TEEN VAPING is A HEALTH CRISIS for Schools; Tackling a new but dangerous habit

Do you know a vape when you see it?

The number of students using vape devices is reaching epidemic levels, and staff members told the school board trustees at Thursday’s meeting.

Clay Community School Curricular and Grant coordinator Kathy Knust thanked the board for installing vape detectors in March 2022 in the schools, which are working, but said they need to do more.

“We honestly were not prepared for what we learned,” said Knust about the number of students caught vaping and the additional afterschool staffing necessary for the tobacco education program. “This disciplinary program is for first-time offenders caught violating school policies.”

Northview Principal Chris Mauk was assessing the situation but quickly discovered how problematic it was.

“The epidemic is crossing and transcending all social groups,” Mauk said. “Students caught vaping are in all classes and age groups. Kids feel like this is a harmless habit. Students at this age feel invincible; it’s not a big deal. They are sharing it with their classmates.”

However, officials say it is a growing health crisis.

The board members were shown confiscated materials and products that can be hidden in plain sight and are easily purchased in some local convenience stores.

“It’s unlike anything we have ever seen or thought of before,” said Knust. “I have never seen anything like it before in my lifetime.”

More students are being caught using vaping products at school than tobacco. Students use vapes, which are designed to hide easily.

FOR EXAMPLE, Mauk said that nicotine vapes are highly addictive and an alleged “gateway” to more dangerous materials and products for underaged students. At NHS, Mauk reported 16 current referrals to the program, expecting to surpass last year’s numbers as brazen behavior by some addicted students has been caught trying to vape in class.

Mauk said there does not appear to be a ‘social stigma’ regarding vaping. Some parents think it is harmless, don’t care, or are unaware of health risks.

The new program must educate students, teachers, staff members, parents, and the community.

IN-DEPTH, sponsored by the American Lung Association, is an acronym for Intervention for Nicotine Dependence: Education, Prevention, Tobacco, and Health. The program is an alternative to the suspension or citation option provided previously to students who face suspension for violation of school tobacco or e-cigarette/vaping use policies.

This program can be taught one-on-one in a school or community-based setting, unlike the old program, which went from twice a year to almost weekly.

With a mission to help students who have taken part in this, and families struggling to understand how to break this addiction, Knust asked the board to support a new pilot education program to expand into the community.

“E-cigarettes and vapes were originally marketed to help smokers quit,” said Andrea Dawes. “However, they have encouraged many students to start using nicotine who had never tried it before, and to try other forms of products easily available.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s most recent data for 2019, over five million adolescent students use e-cigarettes, basically one in four.

The Clay Community School Board of Trustees voted unanimously to support the new program, vowing to provide staffing and funding.