EG Administration working to combat teen epidemic

E-cigarettes were first introduced into the United States market in 2007. But what was originally intended to help people quit smoking has, in fact, done the opposite. It has created a whole new teenage epidemic with some catastrophic results across the nation.

E-cigarettes, or electronic cigarettes, are also known as e-vaporizers (vapes, vaping). Vaping is defined as the act of inhaling and exhaling what is believed to be water vapor, but has been found to actually be an aerosol, which contains small toxic particles. There is no tobacco smoke produced from the e-cigarette, but the aerosols have also been linked to cancer as well as respiratory and heart disease. These flavor-filled pods used in the E-cigarettes are filled with 10 - 15 known carcinogens - like anti-freeze. Each pod also contains a high dose of nicotine. One pod contains 200 “puffs,” the equivalent of one full pack of cigarettes. If a person uses one pod a week for five weeks, that’s like smoking 100 cigarettes. If they use one pod a day for a month, that’s the equivalent of 600 cigarettes.

According to the February 2019 issue of “News in Health,” a monthly newsletter from the National Institute of Health, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, their findings from a 2018 annual survey of 44,000 8th, 10th, and 12th graders on their use of drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes, found that vaping is on an alarming rise amongst our country’s teenagers. About 37 percent of 12th graders reported vaping in 2018, compared with 28 percent in 2017.

In April of 2019, the Eagle Grove Area School District decided they could not turn a blind eye and held an assembly to educate the students about the emerging health and addiction risks of vaping (also known as Juuling). They reminded students that it was not allowed on school grounds and if they were caught doing so, there would be consequences.

Unfortunately, there are still students that choose to continue, or more likely are addicted to, vaping. This has raised conversations between our school officials as well as amongst parents and community members. What do we do to stop the progression of vaping and use on school grounds?

Contrary to some belief, there has not been an anonymous donor who has come forward to pay for the purchase and installation of vape detectors for the school district.

“We have never had anyone come forward with money in hand,” stated Eagle Grove Superintendent Jess Toliver.

He did clarify, however, that he had a meeting with a concerned individual, but Toliver noted that it’s not just about purchasing one or two detectors. There are 18 bathrooms and locker room areas in the high school alone that would need them, and one is needed for every 150 square feet. Toliver said the middle school should really be done as well, which would be a minimum of nine more detectors, putting the purchase bill at more than $30,000 for a minimum of 30 sensors needed (cost is $1,095 per unit), ...and that’s just to purchase them. The schools would also have to run new wiring into the bathroom/locker rooms similar to that used for the security cameras which would add an additional $20,000 to the initial set-up fee for a total of $50,000.

For the full story, see this week's Eagle Grove Eagle. Subscribe by calling 1-800-558-1244 ext 122 or email Deb at circulation@midamericapub.com or by clicking here.