Vaping prevention requires vigilance

Area schools focus on educating students on dangers of e-cigarettes and stopping use of these devices on campus

The national trend of teens using electronic cigarettes has created challenges for area schools as they attempt to detect illegal vaping on their properties and educate students on the pitfalls of picking up the habit.

While Ohio’s schools are currently closed, these are the steps some local schools have been taking to deal with the issue of teens and vaping.

Wickliffe’s insights

At Wickliffe High School, Principal Shyla Metsker said there’s been a slight decrease in vaping over the past year or so. She believes that heightened awareness is making a difference.

“I do feel that students and parents have become more educated on the dangers of vaping, which was not necessarily the case in previous years,” Metsker said.

In addition, Wickliffe High School’s strict novaping policy requires any student caught using an ecigarette, on a first offense, to remain in an in-school restriction setting. Along with completing regular schoolwork in this atmosphere, the student is required to research, write and submit a report on the dangers of vaping, Metsker explained.

“Quite often, I will discuss the report with the student, and realize that they have learned more about the dangers of vaping that they hadn’t previously realized and it somewhat concerns them,” Metsker said. “This doesn’t happen all the time, nor does it stop all students from vaping, but it certainly deters some students who are on the fence about it and only vaping because it’s ‘cool.’ “

From the start of 201920 academic year until the end of February, Wickliffe High School had documented five vaping incidents involving students. While it’s uncertain when classes will resume after the state-mandated closure of schools due to novel coronavirus, Wickliffe High School appears to be on track to have far fewer than the 20 vaping incidents recorded in 201819.

Those 20 vaping violations at the school marked a rise over the 2017-18 academic year, when 14 students broke the rule forbidding e-cigarette usage.

Over the past three academic years at Wickliffe High School, restrooms have proven to be the most common spot for student vaping, since there are no cameras and activity can be concealed further in stalls, Metsker said.

“Hallways and classrooms have been an occasional issue, but not very often,” she said. “This

year, the only areas are restrooms and parking lots.”

Going forward, the school’s approach to addressing the issue of e-cigarettes will focus on educating students and their families of the dangers of vaping, and continuing to monitor the most common vaping areas, Metsker said.

Perry’s perspective

Perry High School Principal Todd Porcello said it’s difficult to say where the vaping trend at the school is headed.

“The data has stayed pretty consistent over the past three years,” Porcello said, although he didn’t provide specific statistics. “There may be a slight decrease.”

When a student at Perry High School is caught vaping or possessing an e-cigarette, he or she faces a penalty of two days extended detention for a first offense, according to the school’s student handbook. For frequent violators of the policy prohibiting smoking/vaping or possession, a fourth or subsequent offense carries a penalty of five to 10 days out-of-school suspension with possible recommendation for expulsion.

“In all cases, parents and authorities are notified,” the handbook states. “In cases where the student is under the age of 18, a citation may be issued.”

Perry Schools attracted regional media attention in January 2019 when the district issued an announcement through Facebook stating that any student found “possessing, using, purchasing or receiving an e-cigarette/vapor-like product” could receive a citation from the Perry Village Police Department.

Perry Village police can cite juveniles under Section 2151.87 of the Ohio Revised Code, which prohibits children “from possessing, using, purchasing or receiving cigarettes or other tobacco or alternative nicotine products.”

Last year’s announcement by the district didn’t involve a new policy. Instead, Superintendent Jack

Thompson said at the time that the district wanted to issue a reminder about the consequences for students caught vaping or possessing an e-cigarette.

In the 12-month period since the district posted the statement, the police department has issued 10 citations involving students illegally using e-cigarettes. Police Chief Troy Hager said those cited consisted of seven high-school students and two middleschoolers from Perry, and one high-school student from outside the district who was cited while attending a sporting event on the Perry Schools campus.

Restrooms and the parking lot at the high school are the prime areas for illegal vaping activity by students, Porcello said.

When it comes to proactive measures to address the issue, Porcello said ecigarettes are covered in Perry High School’s health curriculum and there are posters throughout the building explaining the health hazards of vaping.

Assessing the risks

Although e-cigarette aerosol generally contains fewer toxic chemicals than smoke from regular cigarettes, health agencies and officials still warn that vaping is not a safe practice for children.

Most e-cigarettes contain nicotine, the addictive drug found in regular cigarettes, cigars and other tobacco products, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated.

Using nicotine in adolescence can harm parts of the brain that control attention, learning, mood and impulse control, CDC stated. A person’s brain keeps developing until they are in their early to mid-20s.

In addition, the CDC reported that some e-cigarettes marketed as containing zero percent nicotine have been found to contain nicotine.

“One of the greatest dangers is that the user doesn’t have 100 percent certainty of what they are vaping,” Porcello said.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention