A special session on teen-aged vaping and what parents and guardians need to know has been set for Nov. 25 at Princeton High School’s Performing Arts Center.
The session, which will run from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., is being sponsored by the Princeton Public Schools, The Hun School, Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart, the Princeton Health Department, the Princeton Police Department and Corner House.
The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported last week that there have been 2,172 cases of confirmed or probable lung injury cases. Also, there have been 42 deaths linked to electronic smoking devices.
Aware of the growing health concerns, the Princeton Public Schools Board of Education has already addressed the issue. Earlier this year, the school board adopted a ban on the use of e-cigarettes and other electronic smoking devices in all school buildings and on school grounds.
School district officials are aware that vaping is on the rise, despite the fact that the legal age top purchase tobacco products – which includes e-cigarettes – is 21 years old.
Citing the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Student Assistance Counselor Michele Simborski told the school board earlier this year that the use of e-cigarettes, or vaping, has skyrocketed by 78 percent in the past year. For middle school students, the increase in vaping jumped by 48 percent.
Nicotine is highly addictive, especially among young people whose brains are still developing, Simborski said. Nicotine withdrawal starts about 30 minutes after the last cigarette, and cravings for nicotine last about 15 or 20 minutes, she said.
Companies make “pods” for e-cigarettes in mango and mint flavors, which are attractive to young people, Simborski said.
The companies that manufacture e-cigarettes have designed them to look like car key fobs. E-cigarettes are slim and easy to hide, and most adults would not even know if a student had one in his or her possession, she said.
If a student is caught violating the Princeton Public Schools vaping policy, the student’s parents are notified. The student also has a mandatory meeting with Simborski. The offender must complete an online educational module.
Information is available to help students stop using e-cigarettes and tobacco products, she said. There is a Truth app for teens.
There is even a “quit kit” that includes mint and chewing gum. Students can keep a marble in their pocket to help them control fidgeting, which is part of nicotine withdrawal, she said.
But it is not just school district officials who are concerned about e-cigarettes and vaping among adolescents. State officials also are concerned about the health effects of electronic smoking devices on young people.
Gov. Phil Murphy issued an executive order in September to create a 10-member electronic cigarette task force to address the issue of vaping.
Chaired by Judith Persichilli, the acting commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health, the Electronic Smoking Device Task Force issued its report and recommendations last month.
The task force offered several recommendations – from an outright ban on the sale of flavored electronic smoking devices, to restricting online sales of those devices and related products. They could only be purchased in face-to-face transactions.
Stores that sell electronic smoking devices would be required to post signs that state the devices are not for sale to under-aged persons. The stores would have to put in place point-of-sale protections, such as locking up or otherwise securing the e-cigarettes and related products to keep them out of reach of consumers.
The task force also recommended increasing the penalties for retailers and employees who sell electronic smoking devices, vaping-related devices or other tobacco products to persons who are under 21 years old.
A prohibition on the advertising and sale of products intended to conceal or disguise vaping devices should be enacted, the task force recommended. It also recommended just prohibiting the sale of those items to persons who are under 21 years old.