District eyes harsher infraction policy toward all e-cigarette, vaporizer use
Concern for the health of Clearview students was a top discussion point at the Jan. 24 Board of Education meeting.
“There is a problem on the rise,” Clearview Regional High School Principal Keith Brook said, referring to the nation-sweeping trend of vaping.
A vaporizer is a device that when activated by inhaling, turns “e-liquid” or other materials into vapor. Many of these liquids contain traceable amounts of nicotine and a chemical called diacetyl, which can cause a lung disease called “popcorn lung” and can result in scarring of the lungs.
E-liquid or e-juice are terms that can have quite a few different meanings and ingredient lists, as many of these products are not federally regulated.
It has come to the attention of school administrators that several students are engaging in this activity on school grounds. However, it is a difficult problem to monitor because many devices used are designed to be odorless and smokeless.
“There is just no way to tell what is in it,” Brook said.
It is a popular belief among many that vaping is harmless long and short term. However, according to a recent New York Times article, there is no evidence to support this claim.
Referring to a report compiled by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, the article states that while e-cigarettes and vaporizers may be a “better” alternative to traditional cigarettes, it “stopped short of declaring that e-cigarettes are safe, noting there are no long-term scientific studies of the devices’ addictive potential or their effects on the heart, lungs or on reproduction.”
Brook explained during the meeting and in a letter sent to Clearview district families that vaping companies are marketing heavily toward teenagers.
“They are being marketed aggressively to middle and high school students with tactics such as developing candy flavors like bubble gum, Fruit Loops and Dr. Pepper; and the vaping devices come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors and disguises,” he writes in the letter.
Many companies are manufacturing vaporizes to look like pens, a USB — everyday objects that now are given a double meaning.
Brook included in the letter, “In the course of our investigation we have also discovered (in some cases) students have been purchasing Visa gift cards, buying vape products online, and then having them shipped to an out-of-district student’s house so they do not get caught by their parents. We have also included our school resource officer in this investigation and he will be working with us to prevent these students from circumventing the system.”
Due to the level of concern, the Board of Education is considering amending a policy to treat all infractions involving e-cigarettes (vaporizers) under the Drug/Alcohol policy.
“This means that if a student is caught vaping or possesses vaping paraphernalia, there will be a minimum five-day suspension and the student will be sent out for a drug screen as we will not know the contents of the vaping liquid,” Brook wrote in the letter.
The board will make the decision at the next meeting on Feb. 22.
