The Rise of Vaping in schools: What is going on?
The concept of smoking in school is not a new one. We can ask our parents and grandparents; they will attest to its unwavering presence in previous generations. That being said, what was once smoking cigarettes has evolved into vaping and the use of e cigarettes.
What is vaping?
Despite their increased popularity in the past few years, many people don’t fully understand what vapes really are as they are still a recent development and are constantly evolving.
Vapes are small handheld devices that produce a vapor when inhaled. This vapor consists of nicotine and flavoring, which is inhaled into your lungs.
As vaping is still a relatively new phenomenon, the long-term effects of continued use are still unclear. Research suggests it is thought to have similar, if not worse, effects as smoking cigarettes. These effects include increased risk of lung disease and lung cancer, organ damage, asthma, and addiction.
Why are students prone to vaping?
Vapes are particularly appealing to High School students, as the various flavors mask the harshness of nicotine. According to OHSU, vaping as a teen increases the likelihood of smoking cigarettes in adulthood, and from 2017 to 2019, e-cigarette use in adolescence has increased a staggering eighty percent.
In addition, parental influence is hard to ignore. Environmental factors often have a huge impact on the decisions we make.
Reasearch done by Rachel N. Lipari, Ph.D. suggests children whose parents use substances are prone to follow suit. When we see those, we look up to and admire doing something, it’s difficult to curb the curiosity that inevitably emerges.
If a minor is well informed about the dangers of smoking and abusing substances such as nicotine, they are less likely to feel the need to engage in it themselves.
The Peer pressure factor
An anonymous student from Wilsonville High School shared their experience with vaping. “I’ll admit I have vaped like once or twice in the bathrooms at school before. I think it just started because when you hear the group in the stall vaping, you almost want to be included,” they share.
They went on to explain, “I know the health effects, so I try to avoid as much as possible.”
They then highlighted the influence of peer pressure. “I have definitely felt peer pressure before because like I said before, whenever everyone else is doing it, you feel excluded and it’s like you want to be included.”
The need to fit in is prominent with High Schoolers and can drive students to make questionable decisions, such as to start vaping.
Is Wilsonville the problem?
Experimenting with substances is a common aspect of the High School experience, but even so, it becomes a problem when students can’t seem to stop.
At Wilsonville High School, teachers and staff have made many attempts to curb the problem. Even so, the bathrooms are infamous for being home base to the vaping epidemic.
We have all noticed the telltale signs; seen the subtle twenty-minute bathroom breaks, caught a whiff of the various appealing fruity flavors, and heard the coughing of those trying to hide their problem.
Although we have all seen it in some form or another, this ‘epidemic’ has not only found its home at Wilsonville High School.
A Junior at South Salem High School, Valeria Ruiz, had many thoughts on vaping at her school.
“I’ve constantly noticed the increase in smoking within my school, more notably in the bathrooms,” she admits.
She went on to reflect the effects of vaping in her life, “It has affected me, I’ve witnessed people I’ve known for years succumb to nicotine addiction. Depending on the person, it can completely change them.”
Ruiz described her school’s policy on smoking. “They’ve implemented weapon detection systems that can also detect other series of contraband, which includes vapes. Although we have this, I’m still seeing people smoking in our school. I think if we increased the sensitivity on those systems, maybe more would be detected, and we could go back to an actual learning environment.”
She continued, “Even then, I think teenagers that are seriously addicted to this stuff, will find a way around it to still get their next fix.”
There is no question that vaping is harmful to health. Even so, students are prone to experimenting and having access to accurate information, positive influence and supportive peer interaction is immensely important. Vaping is a known issue at schools, including Wilsonville, but putting an end to it remains a challenge we are willing to face.