The Student Vaping Crisis: How Schools Are Fighting Back
- Looming Health Effects Educators and health experts worry about the long-term effects of nicotine on students’ developing brains. And there are added concerns in states where marijuana has been legalized that students may now have easier access to the drug, which can be used with easily concealed vape devices. ...
- Counseling vs. Fear Tactics ...
- Parent Support Needed ...
Is vaping in schools really a problem?
Students share that it is fairly easy to discreetly vape in class, and that’s a huge problem. However, it can be mitigated with some staff training.
How can schools prevent vaping?
While class-wide or school-wide education efforts can help prevent vaping, peer-to-peer education may be even more effective. Schools can set zero-tolerance policies and parents can threaten punishment, but some teens will still find ways to vape.
Is vaping a problem at your school?
Myth: There are no secondhand smoke risks from vaping. Fact: Like secondhand vapor, secondhand vapor is harmful. When kids are vaping in a school bathroom, others who enter the room inhale the nicotine and the harmful metals and chemicals.
Can you bring a vape to school?
PSA: DON'T BRING YOUR VAPE TO SCHOOL. Other. Just don't do it, I had people who always did and would vape in the back of our science classroom of all places and they looked like idiotic douchebags. 8 comments.
Who is the principal of middle school vaping?
Why is it important to start a vaping program with informational letters?
What happens if you get caught with a vape pen?
What is Boulder Valley School District?
How long does it take to vape a cigarette?
What percentage of teens believe e-cigarettes contain flavoring?
What is a vaporizer pen?
See 4 more
About this website
How do schools solve vaping?
Here are some practical steps schools can take to prevent and reduce teen vaping.Start Tobacco Education Classes.Peer-to-Peer Education.Getting Parents Involved in Tobacco-Related Education.Implement an Anonymous Reporting System to Report Vaping On Campus.Offer Counseling for Stress, Mental Health, and More.More items...•
Can a school expell you for vaping?
The California legislature allows students to be removed from school and their records tarnished for simple possession or use of nicotine-type products.
What do you do if your child is caught vaping at school?
If your child is caught vaping or admits to vaping, try to stay calm and non-judgmental. Listen, don't lecture. Try to understand their feelings. Avoid showing judgment.
Can students vape in school?
The LEA's Tobacco-Free School Policy prohibits the use of electronic cigarettes and other aerosol emitting devices.
Is there a device that can detect vaping?
3D Sense is a vape detector that works on many of these fronts to help combat vaping. 3D Sense continuously monitors its environment to detect vaping, smoking, and air quality disruptions. When vaping is detected, chosen contacts get an alert on their phone so they can investigate further.
Why is vaping not allowed in school?
Experts agree that vaping is harmful to students' bodies and brains. There are toxic chemicals and metals in many e-cigarettes, and vaping can cause respiratory issues, and potentially cardiovascular problems, and even seizures. The nicotine itself is much more concentrated in e-cigarettes than traditional ones.
What is the punishment for vaping?
Most kids use vape pens because they cannot be easily recognized as e-cigarettes. Common punishments include community service, one-week suspension for first or second offenses, and even expulsion for repeated behavior.
Can you test your child for vaping?
Blood Test: A simple blood draw can detect traces of nicotine about two hours after use. Test priced at $70. Hair Follicle Test: This is a good option for parents who think their child has been either vaping or smoking nicotine for a long period of time and the child might stop using it just to get through the test.
Is vaping worse than smoking?
1: Vaping is less harmful than smoking, but it's still not safe. E-cigarettes heat nicotine (extracted from tobacco), flavorings and other chemicals to create an aerosol that you inhale. Regular tobacco cigarettes contain 7,000 chemicals, many of which are toxic.
Does vaping affect your grades?
"The long-term effect of nicotine is a higher risk for addiction and a negative impact on brain development, specifically, your working memory and attention span. So, high schoolers who smoke e-cigarettes could be risking their grades and, potentially, their future careers, because they can't pay attention in school."
Are there vape detectors in school bathrooms?
They installed vapor sensors in the school bathrooms. The detectors can recognize smoke in the air and decipher whether that smoke contains nicotine, tobacco or THC. Once the smoke hits the sensor, it sends an email to the administration. The administration can then send faculty to check the restroom.
Can teachers vape at school?
No. Like employees, visitors are prohibited from smoking, using e-cigarettes, or tobacco products at school-related or school sanctioned activities, on or off school property.
What happens if you get caught vaping at school NZ?
You can be stood-down or suspended for vaping or smoking. Schools can stand-down or suspend you for “gross misconduct” (serious misbehaviour) or “continual disobedience” (regularly breaking rules) if it is likely to cause harm to others.
What happens if you get caught vaping in Singapore?
In Singapore, it is an offence to sell, possess for sale, import or distribute e-vaporisers and related components. Any person who is convicted may face a fine of up to S$10,000 and jail up to six months. The penalty for possessing and using a vape is a fine of up to S$2,000.
How do you stop students from vaping in school bathrooms?
One potential solution is vape detectors, which are in widespread use in US schools and can be coupled with CCTV systems that show which students entered or exited the toilet block at a certain time.
How do you stop kids from vaping in bathrooms?
Vaping detectors are integral in giving students their bathrooms back. These devices impede students from vaping in school restrooms without getting caught. Therefore, instilling a sense of safety and privacy for students when they are using bathrooms at school.
The Student Vaping Crisis: How Schools Are Fighting Back
The Student Vaping Crisis: How Schools Are Fighting Back By Denisa R. Superville and Arianna Prothero With reports of at least one death linked to vaping and dozens of cases of teens and young adults recently hospitalized, school leaders are ... even more anxious about the “epidemic” of e-cigarettes.
Addressing Vaping in Schools – ACSA Resource Hub
This resource is provided by ACSA Partner4Purpose Lozano Smith. School administrators are facing a growing threat to student health that is often disguised as a standard tool. JUULs are a type of vaporizing device—commonly referred to as “vapes”—that are soaring in popularity among young people. According to Wikipedia,
Why did high schools take the doors off of vaping stalls?
An Alabama high school reportedly took the doors off student bathroom stalls to prevent kids from hiding while vaping. And a New Jersey school has installed electronic vaping detectors in student bathrooms that set off an alarm in administrative offices when vaping is detected, according to news reports.
How many high school seniors use vaping?
Nationwide, nearly 4 in 10 high school seniors reported using a vaping device for marijuana, nicotine or flavored liquids in 2018, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. At South Portland High School, Tierney-Trevor said the numbers appeared to be much higher.
How long has cigarette smoking declined?
Adolescent cigarette smoking declined for more than four decades, but the most recent annual survey by the National Institute on Drug Abuse found an increase in adolescents using Juuls and other e-cigarettes to inhale nicotine vapors.
What is South Portland High School's vaping program called?
Another one of South Portland High School’s strategies for preventing youth vaping is a school club called SoPo Unite.
How old do you have to be to smoke e-cigarettes?
And in the past three years, at least 18 states have raised the legal smoking age for both traditional and e-cigarettes to 21 in response to the meteoric rise in adolescent vaping. Other states have tackled flavors in e-cigarettes.
Is there a vaping ban in Maine?
Maine’s new school vaping ban applies to everyone — students, school employees, parents and visitors — and it aims to create a vape-free environment for kids, at least while they’re at school. But the same statute that raised Maine’s legal smoking age to 21 did away with civil penalties for kids.
Is vaping bad for you?
And vaping nicotine is worse for adolescents, whose brains are still developing and who are more susceptible to addiction. The nicotine salts used in vaping cartridges affect the brain faster than nicotine in traditional tobacco products.
What is the most popular tobacco product among high school students?
E-cigarettes are the most popular tobacco product among high school students and they are on the rise with elementary children, so it’s no surprise that they’ve made their way onto school campuses. E-cigarettes are especially appealing to kids, and, since many look like everyday objects, they’re easy to hide.
Should schools have e-cigarette policies?
You should specifically address e-cigarettes in your policy, but make sure they aren’t punitive. This isn’t as much a discipline issue as a rehabilitation one. Instead of exclusionary discipline like in-school suspension, consider having students participate in interactive educational sessions like INDEPTH. Schools also need to have programs and counseling available on-site to help kids quit and support them through that process. This K-12 model policy is a great place to start.
Can students vape in class?
Students share that it is fairly easy to discreetly vape in class, and that’s a huge problem. However, it can be mitigated with some staff training. All administrators, teachers, and staff should be familiarized with the different types of products on the market (some even look like watches!), the harm they cause to lungs and developing brains, and the susceptibility of adolescents to addiction.
What are some alternatives to cigarettes?
E-cigarettes and other vaping products, like Juuls, are pitched as alternatives to traditional cigarettes for adults who want to kick the habit. But health experts and anti-smoking groups say they’ve quickly grown a secondary market among minors attracted to the novelty and flavors like mango, caramel candy, and gummi bear.
Do teens smoke or vape?
After years of aggressive anti-tobacco campaigns aimed at teenagers, students have largely rejected smoking, but many have tried vaping, sending school leaders scrambling to revise discipline policies and drug prevention classes to confront the new trend of inhaling flavor-infused nicotine vapor.
Why is vaping important for kids?
Kids vaping has become a critical issue for teachers and parents. Education, exploration, and examination can go a long way to helping students understand the dangers and long-term risks of e-cigarettes, and it can help them make better choices.
What percentage of 12th graders vape?
In fact, when students were asked if they vaped nicotine, marijuana, or just flavoring, "36 percent of 12th graders reported vaping something, but only a quarter of those said they vaped nicotine. Nearly a third reported they vaped only flavoring.". They had no idea they were vaping nicotine. They were also unaware of the dangers ...
How old is Dena from Vaping?
Dena started vaping when she was in middle school as a way to relax and deal with stress. She also told me that her preferred e-cigarette brand was easy to get. Although you have to be 18 years old to buy the device and disposable pods, Dena, who is 15, has never had a problem purchasing them at her local convenience store. She told me the only thing that really prohibited her from buying them was the cost: $30 for the device itself and $15 for a packet of four pods.
How many times more likely are you to vape when you are 13?
A study by the Royal College of Physicians in the United Kingdom found that "teenagers who had vaped when they were 13 and 14 were four times more likely to have tried a tobacco cigarette a year later than those who had not.". E-cigarettes are clearly a gateway to cigarette use.
What does a vaporizer look like?
Many vaporizers look like a flash drive or credit card, making them really easy for students to conceal, which is a huge driver of their widespread use. Further reading: How to Deal with Cell Phones in School. Here's what teachers and other adults should know about this epidemic.
What are the dangers of smoking e-cigarettes?
They contain dangerous chemicals and heavy metals like nickel, tin, and lead, which can damage the respiratory system. Further, "nicotine exposure during adolescence and young adulthood can cause addiction and harden the developing brain."
Is vaping a health issue for kids?
If you're a parent or teacher today, you're probably concerned about the use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) by middle and high school students. Kids vaping is a dangerous health issue with long-term ...
Who is the principal of middle school vaping?
And high school students trained in prevention education will be deployed to the middle schools to talk to younger students about the dangers of vaping, according to Principal Gregg Wieczorek. “I would rather convince a kid to not start, than to ever have to convince them to stop,” Wieczorek said.
Why is it important to start a vaping program with informational letters?
They started with informational letters to parents—a simple but important step because many parents did not know about the prevalence of vaping, were not talking to their children about vaping, or did not know the most effective ways to do so.
What happens if you get caught with a vape pen?
In addition to suspension, students face a possible felony charge if the liquid in the vape pen includes a banned substance like tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), an ingredient in cannabis.
What is Boulder Valley School District?
The Boulder Valley School District in Boulder County , Colo., has moved from letting individual schools decide how to handle such incidents to developing a community-wide approach that now stresses prevention efforts, including education for students about the risks and how to make good decisions, and informational parent nights that feature the county’ s public health department, law enforcement, local doctors, and experts. They are also working with local physicians to ask screening questions during regular check-ups.
How long does it take to vape a cigarette?
Another thing that has health and addiction researchers worried is that a significant number of teenagers who start vaping—30 percent according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse—progress to traditional cigarettes within six months.
What percentage of teens believe e-cigarettes contain flavoring?
But many teens are not aware of the hazards of vaping. Sixty-six percent of teens believe their e-cigarettes contain just flavoring, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
What is a vaporizer pen?
Vaporizer pens and other sleek electronic devices convert nicotine-infused liquids to water vapor that can be inhaled.