Vaping

What is vaping?

In less then ten years, Vaping has become a major problem for high school students. Vaping usually refers to an electronic cigarettes and nicotine addiction, and carts have marijuana oil. Both can have drastic impacts on your life. One of the common long term effects of vaping is popcorn lung . This is a condition caused by the buildup of scar tissue which stops the flow of air . It can also cause a buildup of fluid in the lungs which can make it difficult to breathe.

Vaping generally happens in the bathroom but also happens in classrooms, the nurses office, and other places. A main way that kids hide it in class is by putting the vape in their sweatshirt sleeve and inhaling it secretly .

Destructive Decisions and Vaping

Many students get into vaping in order to fit in with other students, due to peer pressure. Peer pressure is when someone ( or a group of people ) persuades you to do something. Some kids do it because they were exposed to nicotine or drug use in their homes. Home life can have a big impact o a students decisions. If you haave a family member that uses drugs, you can also be influenced by them. Some students might do it because they see it as away to deal with stress. People might get this idea through propaganda ( Youtube, Media, Pop culture ). Lastly, some students might just do it because it is illegal and they are not supposed to. Breaking the rules might make someone think they look cooler, make them feel powerful, or they might just naturally not want to take orders.

How does vaping impact school culture?

this vaping problem has affected the larger school culture, not just the individual students involved. this vaping problem has led to us having hired bathroom monitors, vape detectors, and the bathrooms will be remodeled in a specific way to deal with the problem. the community now pays for this problem by having to dedicate tax money to addressing it. students that are doing this are hurting the school by making it more like a prison, everyone is losing freedom and trust, and suffering for their actions.

Vaping Statistics

According to nh.gov, using electronic cigarettes has really grown since 2015. From 2000-2015, use of cigarettes was around 20% of high school students, and it was on the decline. when vaping became a thing, it quickly became more popular than cigarettes. in 2015, 25% of high school students were using an electronic cigarette. in 2017, 24% were using. and the most recent data (2019) showed the percent of students to be 34%. (NH stats)

How are other schools dealing with vaping?

Gardner High School (MA)

This started in 2017 and occurred at garden high school. How the high school addressed the vaping problem is they realized a growing concern, the use of vaping products among students. Administrators at Gardner High said they were introduced to a course that is run at Belmont High School for students caught vaping in school. Their team adopted a similar program at Gardner High School. The program adopted by Garden high school is described as a disciplinary measure and a deterrent while also serving an educational purpose.

Bolger said she believes "that suspension leads to kids missing out on school work so with this program" Each week the kid meets with her in addition they also have to meet with the school nurse once a day and the athletic director if they do any extracurricular activities like sports. Each week the program has a new assignment which may require the kids to do research and read about it. At the end of the program the kid is required to write an essay on everything they learned about vaping and the consequences of vaping.

Londonderry High School (NH)

Londonderry High School is now suspending students from their extracurriculars for just twenty days while also giving the students a Restorative Justice program. This was changed from a year to 20 days because someone students who do sports come to school because of sports so taking it away from that kid for a year might not be the solution. Londonderry is also installing vape detectors making it harder for kids to vape in the bathroom.

Solutions

Distracting Your Mouth

It can be helpful to give your mouth something to do in order to take your mind off your addiction. This can help you resist a nicotine addiction. Some things you can do are chewing gum (sugar free ) chewing sunflower seeds, or sugar free candy. The big thing here is that these tasks distract you from smoking/vaping. members of student government agree that giving kids ways to keep there mind off vaping might help cut down the numbers of addiction.

Meditation/ Exercise

Physical activity like running, lifting weights, and exercising can help distract you from nicotine cravings. this can release the chemical dopamine which can help you deal with the addiction. Meditation can also be a great coping skill to deal with stress. this can help you relax and take the edge off with controlled breathing exercises. joining clubs and extracurricular activities could be another way to form healthy habits.

Revising Punishments

A good punishment might be in-school suspension. Out-of-school suspension can seem more like a vacation, but sitting with an administrator all day could be more effective. this punishment could be more effective then the current model of our school suspension. Another teacher shared a story on how in her experience students really were affected by in school suspension. There could be an in-school plan, along with some work you have to do surrounding researching vaping and negative effects, like what was implemented at Gardner High School in Massachusetts.

Another solution could be banning kids from school activities, homecoming , sports, footfall games, dances, assemblies etc. Missing sports might bring the student's potential down and now they are failing and cant help themselves.

Pamphlets

Student-generated pamphlets that will be made available in the nurse's office, providing support for those wishing to quit.

Works Cited:

“Electronic Cigarettes | New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.” New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/programs-services/population-health/tobacco-prevention-cessation/electronic-cigarettes#data. Accessed 9 August 2023.

Gibson, Sarah. “For N.H. High Schoolers, Vaping is a Hard Habit to Kick.” NHPR, 17 December 2019, https://www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2019-12-17/for-n-h-high-schoolers-vaping-is-a-hard-habit-to-kick. Accessed 9 August 2023.

Mansfield, Andrew. "High School Addressing Teenage Vaping." The Gardener News. https://www.thegardnernews.com/story/news/2018/10/08/high-school-addressing-teenage-vaping/9606490007/. Accessed 9 August 2023.

‘“Tobacco Prevention & Cessation | New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.” New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/programs-services/population-health/tobacco-prevention-cessation. Accessed 10 August 2023.

Page updated

Report abuse