Vaping is a Problem Among WHS Students

By Sue Ellen Woodcock

Board of Health member Susan Maguire is concerned about the vaping going on at the high school, after attending a parents’ meeting last week.

“The vape problem at the high school was more than I knew. Apparently vaping is happening,” she said after attending the PTO meeting last week with Bonny Carroll, of the Six City Tobacco Collaborative, She said Winthrop currently has 19 businesses with tobacco sales permits and 13 of them sell vaping devices and supplies.

Dr. Lester Hartman, of Westwood, who has been working on the statewide campaign to raise the tobacco purchasing age to 21, said before Tuesday night’s Board of Health meeting he stopped at a local store, and purchased a Juul device for smoking nicotine salts for $34 without a cartridge.

One Juul “pod” can contain the same mount of nicotine as a pack of regular tobacco cigarettes. Winthrop Public Nurse Deanna Faretra said that “super” pods can also be found.

“The students vape in the bathrooms, and now teachers are having to do bathroom checks,” Maguire said.

Carroll said vaping vapors can be concealed simply by “blowing into their hoodie.” Because the vapor is a water-like mist it dissipates quickly and for the most part has no odor.

According to a brochure on the subject put out by the Winthrop Public Schools, the risks include exposure to nicotine which lets to addiction and harms the developing brain.

One e-cigarette can contain anywhere from 18-72 milligrams of nicotine, where one tobacco cigarette can contain 8-20 milligrams.

According to the brochure, in 2011-2012, e-cigarette use more than doubled among U.S. middle and high school students. In 2015, it was reported that 1 in 6 high school students reporting using e-cigarettes in the past month. Maguire said some students in the middle school are also vaping.

But the consequences of vaping or using e-cigarettes on school property can result in stiff penalties. It is a level 4 offense which includes fighting, use of tobacco products, use of an electronic cigarette or vaporizer, and other violations.

Punishment is swift. The first offense is a three-day out of school suspension, the second offense is a five-day out of school suspension and the third offense will land you a suspension for up to ten days, including exclusion from school.

Information from CASA (Community Action for Safe Alternatives) indicated that 65 percent of students have tried vaping.