Phoebe Barr ‘19:
The FDA website indicates that over 2 million middle and high school students in the United States were using e-cigarettes in 2016, 11% of high schoolers and 4.3% of middle schoolers. Among schools in the area, the phenomenon has recently come to the attention of the faculty and staff. The trend of using e-cigarettes, such as a Juul or Phix, called “vaping,” has taken hold illegally on school campuses, in many ways and for many reasons.
“Juuls aren’t technically cigarettes because they don’t have tobacco,” said Sarah Barr ‘16, an Episcopal Academy alumnus and current student at the University of Michigan, describing the “Juuls,” a type of e-cigarette, that she has seen used on her college campus. The liquid present in these “pods” is heated, which produces the vapor that users inhale. “But you get pods for them and they come in flavors,” Barr continued, “It’s like mint, mango, there’s tons of different flavors. A lot of kids like to smoke them. They’re big on campus at parties and stuff.”
Mike Letts, Episcopal’s interim head of Upper School, described how the issue came to the administration’s attention: “We started hearing about some of it last year, and even further back than that, and this year I had a number of parents come to me. We found some devices early on, and then we just heard from students.” Rumor had it that the vaping was especially concentrated in the boys’ locker rooms in the athletic center and girls’ bathrooms in the upper school. Emma Humann ‘19 noted that discussion of underage vaping was especially prevalent on social media: “Sometimes on snapchat, when I click on somebody’s story, I see that they’re partying and vaping and drinking and stuff.”
Although FDA regulations prohibit anyone under 18 from vaping, vaping itself is not illegal, and in fact many stores advertise the products they sell for vaping. On Ridge Avenue in Roxborough, very close to a “smoke shop” selling tobacco and cigars, a much more modern-looking establishment called “Vape Shop” is open from 11:00 pm to 8:00 pm, selling many-flavored pre-filled cartridges for e-cigarettes, along with modern art and gift cards.
“Our business has been picking up on a month-by-month basis,” said the man working at the counter, whose name was Mike. “But statistically, there are still many, many, many more smokers than there are people vaping. The government actually came out with regulations on vaping, the FDA came out with regulations, because it’s a new industry.” He asserted that vaping was essentially a less harmful alternative to smoking, for those of legal age: “We’re not allowed to actually make health claims that it’s better for you, but what the research says is that it’s less harmful.”
While the CDC’s web page agrees that vaping is less harmful than smoking, and that it may possibly aid a person wishing to quit smoking, it is still considered “not safe for youth” and contains many dangerous and addictive chemicals, the most prominent of which is the nicotine itself.
Anne Ravreby, Episcopal nurse, maintained that vaping is very harmful for high schoolers: “I have students come in with chronic coughs, and, once they quit vaping, it’s amazing how quickly they get better.” Ravreby said that she “can’t believe that the intelligent students at Episcopal would embrace vaping.”
When asked the store’s policy on teenagers attempting to buy nicotine cartridges and other vaping equipment, Mike’s position was clear. “We don’t let kids come in at all. If they do come in, we card and we tell them to leave. Recently it’s mostly been kids coming to the door – we have a pretty good eye, and it’s the same kids over and over. I think it’s kind of a joke for them, and they have fun, I guess… but it’s not really a bother, it’s just we don’t tolerate it. Because it’s against the rules.”
Nevertheless, students are illegally procuring e-cigarettes. There are many possible reasons for the rising trend. McLauchlan said, “I heard two years ago, my seniors told me that kids were vaping in class. I didn’t have any idea that it looked like a pen, and you could be sitting in my class – because it doesn’t always give off vapor – vaping, and I’d have no clue.” She believes that the novelty of the product and the unawareness of many faculty may be part of vaping’s appeal: “That’s often the goal. They don’t even want to do it, but the fact that they can get away with it is just so awesome that they want to do it for that reason alone.”
Another theory is that the popularity of vaping may have originated from boarding schools. Gavin McElhone ‘18 speculated, “Juuling and vaping was the new wave. The popularity spread from boarding schools in New Hampshire and Connecticut and places like that. Someone who I know from around here goes to boarding school up there told me that there was a small company who started this trend called the Juul Boyz, which basically spread vaping from boarding schools to private schools.”
“Juuling is vaping. They are electronic cigarettes,” said Cole Kreuzberger ‘18. “Cigarettes are perceived as more harmful for you since they contain tobacco and all sorts of other chemicals whereas vaping is just water and nicotine.”
Letts suggested a more sinister reason for the rising trend, declaring that “This (vaping) is clearly marketed and designed for kids. That is what’s most concerning to me. Devices that are meant to look like pens and highlighters. It’s frightening to think that a lot of these companies – I don’t think they have anyone’s best interest in mind except their bottom line. You guys are the target.”
In response to this issue, administrators are adjusting their policies and disciplinary measures. According to McLauchlan, vaping is now “in the same category as tobacco” – being caught with an e-cigarette on campus will result in an automatic suspension. Letts describes larger ways in which the school hopes to prevent vaping.
“We’re going to do some more with the ninth grade health seminar around it,” he said. “I’m looking into some programming for parents, because I think, as a parent, I didn’t really know a whole lot about it. I didn’t know what devices look like, where you could get some of the paraphernalia, where you could get the liquids that they use – and so I’ve already sent some links home for them to talk about the health components, videos from YouTube that show what devices look like. And we’ll continue to talk with the kids about the health risks that are involved, which is really our biggest concern.”
McLauchlan echoed Letts’ sentiments, adamant that Episcopal is enforcing its measures on vaping for the good of the student body. “What do I care what you do? I care about your health. It is not good for you. And if we were to know you were doing something that was going to hurt you, and we were to ignore it, I think that’s irresponsible.”