By D. Kevin McNeir
Special to the AFRO
Montgomery County Public Schools may be surprised with a new item coming to their bathrooms soon – vape detectors.
That’s right – the Montgomery County Board of Education in Maryland recently approved a plan to use $2 million to install vape detectors in all county high schools.
Over the past few years, school officials throughout the D.C., Maryland and Virginia area have continued to address and confront the challenge of students vaping. Some school districts have already installed detectors, stationed bathroom monitors and provided information for teachers so they can better anticipate when and where students may attempt to sneak away for a puff.
But the problem has only gotten worse.
According to CDC research from 2023, 2.1 million students currently use e-cigarettes. Of the children who vape, 25 percent reported using e-cigarettes (electronic cigarettes) daily; more than 22,000 were surveyed by the FDA.
Further, recent data shows that e-cigarettes are currently the most widely used tobacco product among young people in the U.S. But hold onto your hats. While the number of high school students using tobacco decreased between 2022 and 2023, the number of middle school students went up, according to the FDA.
Any form of nicotine use, including vaping, has been found to have negative health impacts, experts say. E-cigarettes can damage lungs, leading to problems that include COPD, asthma and lung cancer. The chemicals found in e-cigarettes can also cause lung disease or heart disease. Medical officials warn that young people may become more easily addicted to nicotine because their brains are still developing.
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