By Alli Schieber, Senior Reporter
Most public schools have policies banning students from using vapor products on campus, but students have continued to break the rules.
Alva High School is among the schools where a number of students have been caught using vapor products in school bathrooms and other locations. The school recently sparked controversy when officials removed stall doors in the men’s restroom to reduce vaping in the bathrooms, where students have gone to smoke.
“Rarely do we have a day go by that we don’t have a vape alert,” Alva Principal Dr. Vicki Nighswonger said. “We do have vape detectors in our restrooms.”
If a student uses a vape in the restroom, the alarm system will alert faculty so action can be taken. The alarm will sound if someone has tampered with it.
The bathroom stall doors have since been reinstalled, and Nighswonger said school officials did not intend for the removal to be permanent.
“I can’t explain it, either, but I would hear there would be several boys go into a stall together and use a single vape,” Nighswonger said.
Parents were seemingly mad after a Facebook post began circulating about the situation. One parent, Adrienne Davis, said she thought school officials should have reached out to parents before removing the doors to let them know how big the issue of vaping has become.
Nighswonger, however, said school officials did talk to the parents of the teenagers they suspected of vaping before making the decision. However, contacting all parents about every school decision would be difficult, she said.
It is legal for schools to remove bathroom stall doors, and more schools are taking this approach to help reduce vaping. Most schools are receiving the same type of feedback that parents do not like the decision.
Nighswonger said that, while the decision did help, it did not solve the vaping problem. Students are being creative and going to other places to vape.
Nighswonger said she hopes the decision gave parents the opportunity to talk to their children about vaping and tobacco usage.
NATIONWIDE PROBLEM
IN SCHOOLS
Vaping is not just a problem among Alva High School students. It is an issue across the United States. Schools have implemented classes about tobacco usage, peer-to-peer education programs, anonymous reporting systems and measures to get parents involved.
According to 2020 data from the Truth Initiative, a nationwide anti-smoking campaign, roughly one in five students used e-cigarettes that year. In correlation, more people have been hospitalized with e-cigarette or vapor-related lung injuries – more than 2,000 that year.
“Over 2.5 million teens use e-cigarettes, with nearly half of high schoolers who vape [doing] so on a frequent basis, putting a new generation at risk for a lifetime of nicotine addiction,” said Robin Koval, CEO and president of Truth Initiative.
Nicotine is harmful to developing brains, so when teens use it, it can disrupt the brain circuits that affect attention and learning. It can make young people more likely to become addicted.
Unlike some countries, the United States does not have restrictions on nicotine concentration, so most e-cigarettes have at least 4% nicotine. In Europe, concentration is capped at 2%.
E-cigarettes used to be marketed as a safer option than smoking and as a way to quit smoking. However, some companies marketed their products toward younger demographics, offering different flavors that would be appealing to children. But in July 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration sent out warnings to e-cigarette companies, telling them to remove such flavors from the market.
Most vapor products, however, are geared toward a younger demographic with different flavors that taste like desserts. Most people using vapes and e-cigarettes are between the ages of 18 and 25.
The Truth Initiative shared five tips for quitting vaping, including: exercise, using a distraction, leaning on your support system, finding stress relief solutions and celebrating accomplishments.