Kearsten Ball

Writer

The epidemic affecting nearly every high school in the United States has not missed the doorsteps of Marlow High School, leading MHS teachers and administrators to begin a school wide initiative to educate both themselves and students on the matter of vaping.

At the annual Safe School Committee meeting held on Wednesday, Aug 28 at MHS, compiled of students, parents, teachers and head administrators, it was assumed that half of Marlow high school students are currently vaping, while anywhere from 75% to 90% have tried it.

In recent studies, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found that 3.62 million middle and high school students in the U.S. were current users of electronic cigarettes in 2018, a 48% increase in middle schoolers and a 78% increase in high schoolers from 2017.

From the previous 2018-19 MHS school year, on a monthly average, one student was caught with a nicotine related product on their person.

However, according to statistics from last school year, 67% of MHS students reported to be around those who vape.

Bryan Brantley, principal of MHS, struggles to find the students who use vapes due to their inconspicuous sizes and styles, making it harder to prevent students from using the nicotine devices and therefore spurring his desire to better educate students and parents about the e-cigarette products and health related issues.

“With our school statistics, I thought it was time to give our students information on the effects of vaping to at least try and deter them from it,” Brantley said.

All teachers lectured students on the known effects of vaping, including an addiction to nicotine, inhalation of cancer-causing chemicals and the destruction of the lungs.

The full dangers of vaping are still unknown since the effects have just recently come to light, as it was announced by multiple news outlets that at least 450 teens and young adults across the nation have been hospitalized for a vaping associated lung illness within the past three months.

Patients were admitted with symptoms of fever, nausea, coughing, chest pain and/or shortness of breath.

When looking for a diagnosis, doctors found that the illness looks to be a viral or bacterial pneumonia, but unlike pneumonia, there are slight deviations in the symptoms that make it not exactly like the known disease.

Deborah Buckles, program director of the Tobacco Treatment Program at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center, concluded that vaping abstinence is the only known way to prevent this mysterious lung disease.

“You should stop [vaping] completely,” said Buckles. “Because investigators haven’t identified the source of the lung disorder, right now, the safest bet is simply not to vape.”

Backing up Buckles statement, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended to all members of the public not to vape while the investigation proceeds.

Taking the information presented by MHS faculty, as well as the national warnings, a student at MHS who wishes to remain anonymous spoke on their use of the e-cigarette.

“I got into vaping about a year or so ago,” said the student. “My older friends vaped, so one day I tried it and thought it was cool, so I continued to do it.”

With parents unaware of his or her use, the anonymous student made clear that a friend, of the legal age, bought the device and products for them.

“I started to get into higher level nicotine products, and that’s when I started to realize I was addicted,” the student said.

After the warnings were displayed, the student has since announced their process of quitting their addiction, as they became aware of the dangers of nicotine after seeing it had hospitalized others.

Recognizing the crisis and wanting to put an end to the illegal teenage use of vapes, President Donald Trump met with health officials on Wednesday, Sept. 11 to discuss a ban on flavored e-cigarettes, as the flavors were said to attract the youth.

With millions of teens at risk throughout the country, MHS will continue their goal of ending the vaping epidemic within their grounds, as an assembly on vaping will be held on a to be determined date for high school students.