Vaping rampant in schools, even in classrooms

Students are vaping at Lake Roosevelt Schools, and in schools around the nation. The nicotine in vape products, just as with tobacco, is said to harm developing adolescent brains.

The topic of vaping was discussed at the Dec. 9 Grand Coulee Dam School District board meeting during a discussion of policies, including a policy on nicotine products that was amended to include a clearer definition of nicotine products and devices that includes vaping and vaping products.

The group discussed vaping at some length, including its prominence in the school and possible solutions for dealing with it.

Superintendent Paul Turner, responding to a question from Board Director Carla Marconi, said there were “tons” of instances of students vaping. He speculated that it doesn’t only occur at the middle school and high school levels, but possibly younger. Despite not having evidence of it happening in the elementary school, Turner said it wouldn’t surprise him if it was.

Marconi was shocked to hear from fellow Director George LaPlace that vaping occurs not only outside of the school, but even in classrooms, with LaPlace explaining how small the vape delivery devices can be.

Turner elaborated, saying a vape device can fit on the end of a lanyard and be used in an inconspicuous way.

“The sad thing is the stuff that’s coming out is bad for you,” Turner said.

“The only thing your lungs are intended to breathe in is clean air,” LaPlace said.

Turner said that health classes have been educating students about the dangers of vaping, and that the district has been training staff on the issue.

Athletic Director Tim Rasmussen, present at the meeting, said the Wilbur School District has installed vape detectors in buses, hallways, classrooms, and bathrooms. He noted that the vapor from the devices is often odorless and dissipates quickly, making it otherwise hard to detect and easier for students to get away with than smoking.

Rasmussen said that vaping is targeted towards students by vaping companies as something healthier than smoking, and that they use different flavors and devices as part of their marketing technique.

“These companies intentionally targeted our youth,” he said.

Rasmussen said he thinks several students who played winter sports last year are not playing this year, and that their desire to keep vaping was a key deterrent for them not to play sports, the rules for which forbid vaping.

Turner and Rasmussen both noted that the issue is not just local but is “rampant” in schools in the country. Rasmussen said the city of San Francisco has gone so far as to ban the selling of vape products in their city.

Rasmussen hopes that a new law taking effect in January preventing the selling of vape products to those under 21 will help with the problem.

Newly elected Director Alex Tufts said it might be worth doing what Wilbur is doing with the vape detectors.

“If it’s that big of an issue, and if it’s getting worse and worse, do we need to follow suit and take those drastic measures?” he asked.

Marconi said the district should look into the cost of vape detectors.

Asked if staff were vaping, Turner said not to the best of his knowledge.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that as of Dec. 10, a total of 2,409 people were reportedly hospitalized with EVALI (e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury) in the United States. Some 52 deaths have been confirmed.

The CDC says EVALI linked mostly to a substance called vitamin E acetate, which is added to some THC-based vaping products, THC being the active component of marijuana.

The CDC discourages people from vaping, especially adolescents.

Dr. Robert R. Redfield, director of the CDC said in a statement in September that “any tobacco product use, including e-cigarettes, is unsafe, especially for youth. … Nicotine can harm the developing adolescent brain. We must do everything we can to reduce the use of e-cigarettes among middle and high school students to protect them from immediate lung injury and a lifetime of nicotine addiction.”