Vaping/E-Cigarettes
What You Need to Know
The seemingly overnight popularity of e-cigs has left state and federal lawmakers unprepared and scrambling to enact policies to prevent kids from getting their hands on these products.
Because of its design, the e-cigarette or “e-cig”, does not meet the legal definition of a tobacco product that prevents its sale and advertisement to minors. Furthermore, the use of sweet flavors like, candy and chocolate, and fruity ones, like mango and watermelon, makes it more appealing to children. Sellers are using a youth marketing strategy created by the tobacco industry to hook young users, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
To add to the trouble, social media is exploding with e-cig tricks and photos, further enticing young people.
E-cig companies claim vaping is “safe and healthy.” But there has been little research done on these products to support that claim. The term vaping or “vape” came from the original invention of a version of the e-cig in the late 1970s and was used to describe the vapor that you inhale, rather than smoke. This makes e-cigs and “vape pens” seem safe and healthy, since the user isn’t “smoking” and there is no tobacco involved.
Why Vaping is Harmful
E-cigarettes do contain nicotine, which according to the US Surgeon General, can cause addiction, developmental delays and if consumed in high quantities, death in adolescents. On average, one e-cig stick or cartridge contains the same amount of nicotine as an entire pack of cigarettes.
The nicotine itself is suspended in liquids that contain the flavoring. These liquids have also been tested and found to contain toxins such as cancer-causing flavorings and additives.
News headlines are filled with tragic stories involving deaths and hospitalizations linked to vaping products. The New England Journal of Medicine reports autopsies show some bodies of the victims had similar respiratory system injuries to victims of chemical warfare.
Vaping by the Numbers
Vaping is not limited to high schoolers.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) found that in 2014, about 1 percent of middle school students reported smoking an e-cig. In 2018, that number soared to just over 4 percent. That means in a class of 25 middle schoolers, at least one is vaping.
In the same report, high school students had the highest reported rates of usage. In 2014, almost 8 percent reported using e-cigs but in 2018 that number more than doubled to a staggering 20 percent. That’s one out of every five high school students vaping.
What You Can Do
1. Understand the products themselves, their names, designs and how students use them. Click here for an overview written for principals, teachers and parents.
2. As a school you should develop policies to curb the usage of these products by your students. For example, include or add e-cigs, vape pens and associated products to non-smoking policies you may already have in your school handbook.
3. Educate parents and teachers about vaping and encourage them to have conversations with their children about the dangers of vaping and associated health risks.
Because of its design, the e-cigarette or “e-cig”, does not meet the legal definition of a tobacco product that prevents its sale and advertisement to minors. Furthermore, the use of sweet flavors like, candy and chocolate, and fruity ones, like mango and watermelon, makes it more appealing to children. Sellers are using a youth marketing strategy created by the tobacco industry to hook young users, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
To add to the trouble, social media is exploding with e-cig tricks and photos, further enticing young people.
E-cig companies claim vaping is “safe and healthy.” But there has been little research done on these products to support that claim. The term vaping or “vape” came from the original invention of a version of the e-cig in the late 1970s and was used to describe the vapor that you inhale, rather than smoke. This makes e-cigs and “vape pens” seem safe and healthy, since the user isn’t “smoking” and there is no tobacco involved.
Why Vaping is Harmful
E-cigarettes do contain nicotine, which according to the US Surgeon General, can cause addiction, developmental delays and if consumed in high quantities, death in adolescents. On average, one e-cig stick or cartridge contains the same amount of nicotine as an entire pack of cigarettes.
The nicotine itself is suspended in liquids that contain the flavoring. These liquids have also been tested and found to contain toxins such as cancer-causing flavorings and additives.
News headlines are filled with tragic stories involving deaths and hospitalizations linked to vaping products. The New England Journal of Medicine reports autopsies show some bodies of the victims had similar respiratory system injuries to victims of chemical warfare.
Vaping by the Numbers
Vaping is not limited to high schoolers.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) found that in 2014, about 1 percent of middle school students reported smoking an e-cig. In 2018, that number soared to just over 4 percent. That means in a class of 25 middle schoolers, at least one is vaping.
In the same report, high school students had the highest reported rates of usage. In 2014, almost 8 percent reported using e-cigs but in 2018 that number more than doubled to a staggering 20 percent. That’s one out of every five high school students vaping.
What You Can Do
1. Understand the products themselves, their names, designs and how students use them. Click here for an overview written for principals, teachers and parents.
2. As a school you should develop policies to curb the usage of these products by your students. For example, include or add e-cigs, vape pens and associated products to non-smoking policies you may already have in your school handbook.
3. Educate parents and teachers about vaping and encourage them to have conversations with their children about the dangers of vaping and associated health risks.
Vaping in the Classroom
Vaping devices are small, quiet and look like something a student would carry on them during a normal school day. No matter the size, all of the vaping devices can cause harm or even death.
Some examples of look-a-like vaping devices:
• USB thumb drives
• Lipstick
• Compacts
• Pens
• External cell phone power banks/batteries
Indicators of Vaping
Because of their size, it is very hard to stop the devices from coming into the school. Here is what schools and parents should look for:
• Thick, white clouds of vapor, similar to what you see from smoke stacks in the winter;
• Inexplicable smells of candy, fruit, dark chocolate, coffee or tobacco;
• Students covering their mouth with a jacket or scarf;
• Students blowing into backpacks or down their shirts.
At home, parents should look for:
• Packages coming to the house on an abnormally frequent basis;
• Students spending more or asking for more money. Vaping products are not cheap;
• Spent product cartridges or little flavoring bottles in the trash.
Places For Vaping
Areas where students are unsupervised, like in bathrooms, cars, buses and locker rooms, are hotbeds for vaping. School leaders should develop policies and enforcement measures to prevent vaping in unsupervised school areas.
Health Signs of Vaping
Finally, schools and parents should keep an eye on their child’s health and notice the signs of nicotine poisoning and respiratory issues. You can view information about nicotine poisoning from Poison Control.
If a student is having trouble breathing or showing the signs of nicotine poisoning, please seek medical help immediately.
A whole school community response is the best approach to preventing underage vaping, health officials say.
Some examples of look-a-like vaping devices:
• USB thumb drives
• Lipstick
• Compacts
• Pens
• External cell phone power banks/batteries
Indicators of Vaping
Because of their size, it is very hard to stop the devices from coming into the school. Here is what schools and parents should look for:
• Thick, white clouds of vapor, similar to what you see from smoke stacks in the winter;
• Inexplicable smells of candy, fruit, dark chocolate, coffee or tobacco;
• Students covering their mouth with a jacket or scarf;
• Students blowing into backpacks or down their shirts.
At home, parents should look for:
• Packages coming to the house on an abnormally frequent basis;
• Students spending more or asking for more money. Vaping products are not cheap;
• Spent product cartridges or little flavoring bottles in the trash.
Places For Vaping
Areas where students are unsupervised, like in bathrooms, cars, buses and locker rooms, are hotbeds for vaping. School leaders should develop policies and enforcement measures to prevent vaping in unsupervised school areas.
Health Signs of Vaping
Finally, schools and parents should keep an eye on their child’s health and notice the signs of nicotine poisoning and respiratory issues. You can view information about nicotine poisoning from Poison Control.
If a student is having trouble breathing or showing the signs of nicotine poisoning, please seek medical help immediately.
A whole school community response is the best approach to preventing underage vaping, health officials say.
Stop Vaping in Your School
What Schools Can Do to Address Vaping
• Update your school's policies to prevent the use of vaping devices. This is unique to every school, and you should consult your school's lawyers.
• Look for ways to prevent students from vaping in unmonitored areas, like bathrooms and locker rooms.
• Stop vaping in your school community by implementing a vape and tobacco-free campus.
What Parents Can Do
Research from the Office of the Surgeon General shows the number one way to prevent vaping in teens is through parents. The parent’s role is to demystify the false facts around vaping and encourage an honest conversation about it.
Students try vaping because they think it is safe and fun. If that message can be corrected, then students are less likely to vape, Surgeon General says.
Parents are encouraged to talk to their children about it, even if they aren't vaping. Parents should discuss the truths and facts about vaping, how their child feels about it, and answer any questions they have.
Parents should also include information about the health effects of this dangerous trend and some of the issues that many teens are now facing as a result of excess vaping.
If parents catch their kids vaping, use that moment to educate them about the risks and unintended consequences of using e-cigs.
The US Surgeon General has published some helpful talking points and information for parents. You can find that information here.
Vaping is not going to disappear overnight; but just like tobacco, it can be stopped. The only way to do that is to approach the issues as a community, the Surgeon General says.
• Update your school's policies to prevent the use of vaping devices. This is unique to every school, and you should consult your school's lawyers.
• Look for ways to prevent students from vaping in unmonitored areas, like bathrooms and locker rooms.
• Stop vaping in your school community by implementing a vape and tobacco-free campus.
What Parents Can Do
Research from the Office of the Surgeon General shows the number one way to prevent vaping in teens is through parents. The parent’s role is to demystify the false facts around vaping and encourage an honest conversation about it.
Students try vaping because they think it is safe and fun. If that message can be corrected, then students are less likely to vape, Surgeon General says.
Parents are encouraged to talk to their children about it, even if they aren't vaping. Parents should discuss the truths and facts about vaping, how their child feels about it, and answer any questions they have.
Parents should also include information about the health effects of this dangerous trend and some of the issues that many teens are now facing as a result of excess vaping.
If parents catch their kids vaping, use that moment to educate them about the risks and unintended consequences of using e-cigs.
The US Surgeon General has published some helpful talking points and information for parents. You can find that information here.
Vaping is not going to disappear overnight; but just like tobacco, it can be stopped. The only way to do that is to approach the issues as a community, the Surgeon General says.
Other Vaping Products
Recently, companies have been advertising the same technology as the vape pen, but instead of nicotine, they contain vitamins or other health products.
These new products work the same as any other vaping device. They vaporize a liquid when the user draws from it. Only this time, the vapor contains vitamins or essential oils.
The new vaping products claim to have the same health benefits as their pill counterparts. However, the Centers for Disease Control is recommending that consumers refrain from any vaporizing products regardless of what it contains especially during the ongoing investigations into the recent string of vaping-related lung illnesses.
As lawmakers work to create laws to regulate vaping devices, the new health vaping products fall in a grey zone. Because they do not contain nicotine, there is no oversight by the US Food and Drug Administration's Center for Tobacco. This means that these products are hitting the market without any oversight on the health and safety of the products.
Schools need to be aware of these new products, as they may not be covered by your school's policies against tobacco use. You should keep this in mind as you update your handbook on vaping. Schools should also be prepared to handle parents who "prescribe" these vitamins or essential oils for their children.
Schools should review pages 47-55 of the WCRIS 2020-21 Legal Handbook on administering medications at school for additional guidance on handling these cases.
Click here to view an article from the Wall Street Journal about vaping vitamins.
These new products work the same as any other vaping device. They vaporize a liquid when the user draws from it. Only this time, the vapor contains vitamins or essential oils.
The new vaping products claim to have the same health benefits as their pill counterparts. However, the Centers for Disease Control is recommending that consumers refrain from any vaporizing products regardless of what it contains especially during the ongoing investigations into the recent string of vaping-related lung illnesses.
As lawmakers work to create laws to regulate vaping devices, the new health vaping products fall in a grey zone. Because they do not contain nicotine, there is no oversight by the US Food and Drug Administration's Center for Tobacco. This means that these products are hitting the market without any oversight on the health and safety of the products.
Schools need to be aware of these new products, as they may not be covered by your school's policies against tobacco use. You should keep this in mind as you update your handbook on vaping. Schools should also be prepared to handle parents who "prescribe" these vitamins or essential oils for their children.
Schools should review pages 47-55 of the WCRIS 2020-21 Legal Handbook on administering medications at school for additional guidance on handling these cases.
Click here to view an article from the Wall Street Journal about vaping vitamins.
Side Effects of Vaping
Click here to learn about the side effects of vaping.
History of Juul Vaping Products
Click here to learn about the history of vaping products.
