Despite the natural “high” that accompanies sporting events and school activities, vaping has permeated Eastern.

  Vaping, or use of e-cigarettes, refers to the inhalation of aerosolized nicotine and flavored chemicals through various devices. Vaping also encompasses the use of vape pens to inhale other substances, including marijuana.

  In an attempt to discourage students from engaging in the use of e-cigarettes, the Board of Education approved a change in the disciplinary policy on November 15. The amendment focuses primarily on vaping and vaping paraphernalia and subsequent consequences.

  According to the new revisions, students using tobacco products or vaping accessories on school property or buses will be issued three out-of-school suspensions, and the administration will contact their parents, as well as the police. The second offense will increase the number of suspensions to four, maintain parent and police contact, and add three extended school days. The third offense will result in a superintendent hearing.

  The revisions also address students in “a vaping situation,” as well as students in possession of tobacco products or vaping accessories. The first offense will result in one out-of-school suspension and parent contact, and the subsequent two offenses will increase the suspensions to three and four, respectively, while maintaining parent contact. The fourth offense will result in a superintendent hearing.

  Also included in the changes is mandatory drug screening and or medical examinations following possession or use of intoxicants during school or school activities. Refusal to comply equates an assumed positive.

  Principal Mr. Tull was active in moving this amendment in discipline policy forward. Tull cites three main reasons for doing so: the increased vaping by teenagers (specifically Eastern students), concerns for student and staff safety, and his desire to remove the illegal act from school grounds so as not to affect student education.

  According to Tull, vaping issues are increasingly evident in bathrooms at sporting events, as well as bathrooms at school. This directly correlates with national studies observing the increase of vaping by teens. Youth are more likely to use e-cigarettes than adults, as e-cigarette usage nationwide has risen to 14% among sophomores and 16.2% among seniors, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

  In addition to this increase in vaping, Tull especially stresses safety as a particularly cogent element of this policy change.

  “While students are at school, between leaving for school and going back home, they are under the school jurisdiction,” said Tull. “If students are at risk, our duty is to send them for medical attention or someplace to determine they aren’t at risk for harm.”

  Students may experience immediate adverse effects related to vaping, including nausea, dizziness, respiratory problems, and vomiting. Such symptoms are especially common when students are unaware of the concentration of the contents as well as when unaware, surrounding students or staff inhale the vapors.

  Besides the immediate danger vaping poses to students, other repercussions lurk as well.

  For one, brains do not reach full development until about twenty five years of age. Chemicals from vaping can cause brain processing and development deficits down the line, as well as lung damage.

 The contents of vaping paraphernalia also can harm students who engage in this activity. Although scientists have yet to determine all of the adverse effects of this relatively new fad, they have made many observations regarding aerosol content.

 Many harmful substances are commonplace in vape aerosols, even though NIDA reports that 66% of teens who vape think just flavoring is in their vape pen and 13.7% report they do not know.

Nicotine is included in high concentrations, which gets more addictive as the concentration increases. Even some e-cigarettes advertised as containing no nicotine have been found to include the chemical. The commonplace flavoring chemical diacetyl has been linked to lung disease. Chemicals that cause cancer as well as heavy metals like lead have also been found in e-cigs.

  All of these health factors play an important role in Tull’s assertion that students should not be smoking, not to mention the illegality intertwined in this fad.

  “We don’t want vaping in our school environment,” said Mr. Tull.  “The sooner we get it out of our school, the better. The focus should be on education, and the students who are involved in activities that lead to higher achievement.”

  Mr. Tull encourages students to tell him, talk to teachers, or email grade-level vice principals when they suspect or witness vaping. He also points out that everything in life is “choice driven” and that teen-parent conversations may help alleviate this harmful trend.

Although this policy change does bring to light a select group of students involved in vaping, Tull hopes the attention will turn to students who exhibit exemplary behavior in school instead.