VAPING IN THE CLASSROOM

“Smoking’ in the Boys Room” is a song originally released by Brownsville Station in 1973. However, Mötley Crüe released a grittier, rock version of the hit in 1985. The lyrics of the song glorifies cigarette smoking. It even goes as far as making it seem fun and kind of dangerous because he is hiding from school officials.

Due to the commercial push of cigarettes through TV shows and ads, smoking was considered the cool thing to do in the 50s and 60s.

Even though the Surgeon General warned of the dangers of smoking in 1965 by Congress requiring all packages to carry a health warning, and banning any tobacco advertisement on television and radio in 1970, smoking was still extremely prevalent in the 80s and 90s. The song was the answer to banning cigarettes at school.

In 2010, an old invention, yet born again idea, was introduced; the vape mod. This is a battery powered device that converts liquid – typically flavored and with various strengths of nicotine – into a vapor by a miniature heating element. Thus, leaving the user inhaling moisture drops.

What was originally invented to assist smokers in curbing their addiction, and hopefully quit all together, has turned into an epidemic among the young adult crowd. Why, you might ask. Simple; because of the flavors. It has now been the cool thing to do. Is cool still a used term?

Why would somebody stop smoking vapor that is flavored like peaches and cream, or king cake. There are millions of flavors available on the market.

Unfortunately, what began as a way to quit, then blossomed into its own addiction, has now unearthed its own type of medical issues. To date, eight people have died from vaping in the US. Apparently, it is causing acute respiratory distress syndrome. New York has banned the product completely.

As of September 26, the Oklahoma State Department of Health reported the first case of e-cigarette and vaping serious lung injury. An 18-year-old in Tulsa County was the affected party.

Commissioner of Health Gary Cox, said they are working diligently to get to the bottom of the issue. “We are committed to working with our state and federal partners to learn everything we can about this investigation in order to prevent further injury and potential death,” Cox said in a press release.

These issues have trickled down to little old Marshall County. There have not been any reported deaths, but it has become a school wide affliction.

Kingston Assistant Police Chief  Chris Watson is also the School Resource Officer at Kingston Schools. He said it has become an issue and they were forced to implement a new policy regarding vape pens.

“We started a zero tolerance rule,” Watson said. “We had to put a zero tolerance rule into place because there was 10 other kids that have been caught with vapes before we started writing the citations.”

Watson said that to date, approximately 20 high school kids were caught with vapes on school property. The punishment is more than just getting sent home for the day, Watson said they want the student and parents to know they are cracking down on underage tobacco and vape being used.

“Any and all students caught with vapes/tobacco product will start out with a tree day suspension and a citation from the police department,” Watson said.

All of the schools are tobacco free/zero tolerance 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Vapes and tobacco products are not allowed on school property at all, even being in possession can get you in trouble.

The Madill High School Principal said Madill has also seen an increase, but nothing different than anywhere else.

“We are seeing an increased number of vaping incidents on campus which correspond to the numbers all over the country,” Ward said.

Madill has not implemented a zero tolerance, they are still taking it case by case. “We are treating each case individually and doing our best to educate our students as well as take appropriate action once a student has been caught,” Ward said.

“We have the Madill Police Department coming in and doing D.A.R.E. lessons on juuling/vaping as well as looking for other options,” Ward added.

Ward said that students are not the only ones that must adhere to the no vape rule. “All vapes, juuls and e-cigs are illegal on school grounds for everyone, not only students, but adults alike.”

The principal said depending on the situation, the student could receive detention, or be turned into the Oklahoma Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission.

Ward said the product being illegal on school grounds is not the only worry. “It is a scary deal with everything we are seeing on the news around the country with the lung diseases and deaths associated with it.”