Presentation tackles vaping
LOWER SALFORD >> It was about two years ago or less when he first heard the term “juuling” and vaping started to hit his radar, Christopher Hey, Souderton Area School District’s assistant superintendent and director of human resources and the president of the Indian Valley Character Counts! Coalition, told a group of parents on hand for “Clearing the air about vaping” Oct. 9 at Indian Valley Middle School.
“That fast, this epidemic, whatever you’d like to call it, has really taken hold in this community and in communities across the country,” Hey said.
“Students in our school system are vaping more than we care to admit and it’s pretty scary to us,” he said. “We deal with it from a discipline standpoint and also from a standpoint of trying to educate students and families about the dangers of vaping — inhaling cigarette-like products — but it’s
getting almost overwhelming.”
Fortunately, the Souderton area has less incidences of vaping than is happening many other places, but there are still issues here, he said.
The human brain is not fully developed until age 25, putting those who begin using substances at younger ages more at risk of addiction, said Kim Porter, executive director of Be a Part of the Conversation and a certified family recovery specialist.
“Vaping — it started out as such a good idea. It really did. It was intended for harm reduction,” said Gretchen Hagenbuch, student assistance program coordinator for Caron Treatment Centers.
The idea was to introduce something less harmful than cigarettes, she said.
“To a certain degree, it is less harmful than smoking cigarettes,” she said, but said vaping is also harmful, particularly to young people.
“It’s become this method for introducing kids to nicotine,” Hagenbuch said.
The result too often is that the person starts with vaping, then switches to traditional cigarettes, she said.
The state of Pennsylvania charges a 40 percent tax on vaping, which last year brought in $13.7 million, she said.
“So I don’t think we can really count on the government to help us get rid of these devices because they’re making a lot of money,” Hagenbuch said.
Fruity flavors help attract kids to vaping, she said.
“They don’t look like something that would be so scary,” she said while showing a vaping device. “They look benign and it would be very easy to stumble across these and not know what they are.”
Some of the ingredients used in vaping are safe, but there are others that are toxic chemicals, she said.
“Kids still think they’re inhaling water vapor,” Hagenbuch said. “Aerosol, which is what vapes are, is like a fog machine, and nobody would stick their lips to a fog machine and inhale.”
Vaping affects brain health, causes gum diseases and has other health impacts, including vaper’s cough, she said.
It’s not difficult for kids to get vapes, she said.
“They go to the local vape shop, who may or may not actually ask them for their ID,” Hagenbuch said.
“I bought this on the internet,” she said of the vaping device she had shown, “and all it did was ask me to check a box saying I was 18.”
Marijuana is also being vaped, she said.
The marijuana now available is much stronger than in the past, she said. In the 1960s and ‘70s, marijuana was about 1 percent THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), she said.
“That’s why grandpa could be at Woodstock, smoke weed and then still become the CEO of a company,” Hagenbuch said.
“When I was smoking it in the ‘80s and ‘90s, it was about 3 percent and that caused me enough problems,” she said. “The average now is 13 percent.”
Patrick Dowling, a licensed professional counselor, said about 70 percent of the work he does is related to addiction.
The world today’s kids are living in moves a lot faster and includes things such as social media, he said.
“Our kids deal with a really complex world,” Dowling said. “Our kids are dealing with what we dealt with times five.”
The role of parents is to prepare their children to go out into the world and be successful, he said.
“Here’s the concern I have with nicotine use, period. It sells the user this belief that you need something outside of yourself to be OK. That is a super dangerous belief system,” he said.
“We’re inhibiting our children’s ability to navigate the world successfully by allowing the introduction of an addictive drug,” Dowling said. “As a person in longterm recovery, I will tell you that nicotine kills more alcoholics than alcohol does.”
On average, it takes 15 years for a person who has gotten sober from alcohol or other drug issues to stop smoking, he said.
Kids whose parents are very clear with their children about their expectations about substance use are 50 percent less likely to become involved with substances, he said.
“Have the conversation with your kids. You guys are the greatest influencer on your children,” Dowling said. “You have the most power to influence your children’s behavior out of anybody, period. Please use it. The fact that you’re here indicates that you probably will.”
It can be a difficult conversation, but part of what is being demonstrated is perseverance through something that is difficult, he said.
“Don’t avoid the conflict. Have the conflict in a kind, loving supportive way that also keeps responsibility and accountability,” Dowling said.
“If you’re not having the conversation or you’re not holding the line because you’re afraid the answer isn’t gonna be what you think it should be, or they’re not gonna come to the conclusion you think they should, you’re losing the respect of your children,” he said.
Dowling also stressed the importance of family values including honesty, respect, perseverance, gratitude, responsibility, forgiveness, humility and generosity.
Following the presentation, the audience broke into small groups with facilitators for discussion and questions.