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Education Dive
School districts deploy vaping sensors in e-cig crackdown
Natalie Gross
Sept. 16, 2019
Dive Brief:
School districts in at least three states – Ohio, Illinois and New
Jersey –have installed sensors to detect smoke from e-cigarettes. North
Carolina could be next, as the state’s attorney general weighs the
option of securing state funds to implement the technology, WCNC
reports.
The sensors cost about $1,000 each and are made to detect the chemicals
in smoke from e-cigarettes. If the sensors pick up the chemicals, they
send a text message to designated school personnel.
So far, about six deaths and 450 illnesses in the U.S. have been linked
to vaping, and school districts are starting to take extra measures to
protect students.
Dive Insight:
The hazards of vaping have gained national attention in recent months
as a spike in related illnesses have led advocates, lawmakers and even
the president to decry the industry. And now, administrators and school
leaders are grappling with how to properly address it in their local
schools.
Elizabeth D’Amico, a behavioral scientist with the RAND Corp., recently
said that the rise in the popularity of vaping among teens is somewhat
to blame on misinformation. Students seem to think vaping is not as
harmful or addictive as traditional cigarettes. Yet, as previously
reported, half of the teens who vape go on to use combustible
cigarettes in one year. And according to the U.S. Surgeon General, the
chemicals in e-cigarettes can harm adolescent brains, which are
continuing to develop until the age of 25.
Students are also misinformed about how many of their peers are vaping,
drinking or smoking marijuana and tend to overestimate it. D’Amico
recommends districts take an educational approach, rather than a
punitive one, to combat the problem, by including information on the
health risks in after-school and health education programs.
Administrators can also take the advice of the National Association of
School Nurses and hire school nurses who are trained to identify the
use of e-cigarettes early and recommend treatment, if needed.
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