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CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – They're doing it in school bathrooms. In locker rooms. In hallways and school grounds. The most brazen of the students? They're doing it right inside classrooms.
They're vaping – inhaling electronic cigarettes that are often highly addictive to nicotine, as they are easy to conceal, creme brulee, mint and nectar.
The most recent data show that 3 million school-age children – including more than 600,000 middle school students – have tried vaping. Many are concerned that it could be a stronger substance, such as regular cigarettes or marijuana.
For many teens, it has become the latest way to look and feel cool. Go to YouTube and you'll find plenty of videos talking about vaping, about being suspended for vaping, or providing lessons with vaping tricks – such as making. It's now the most commonly used tobacco product among young people.
Parents, often, are in the dark – fooled in by devices that like flash drives and pens. Many have never heard of vaping – or JUULing, as it is commonly known among teens.
"It's a pretty big problem," said John Sobah, 16, a junior at Chippewa Valley High School in Clinton Township and a member of the school board. "I've seen a lot of people vaping. … It happens at every school. "
It is becoming a nemesis of school administrators, who are beefing up policies and treating students who get caught vaping the same they would students who are caught with regular cigarettes.
Many are bringing in outside experts to educate students and parents, while others are creating their own prevention programs.
In some nationwide districts, school officials have removed doors from bathroom stalls to deter students from vaping.
And it's troubling experts who worry about the health effects of the products on the growing brains of teens. There's more than just a little bit of information about nicotine, you're using them to get your marijuana.
The head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recently been reported to be an epidemic, a victim of an epidemic, and a victim of an epidemic. The U.S. Surgeon General in a 2016 report said it is a major public health concern.
Cheryl Phillips has been teaching Vaping 101 classes to students and parents at schools across the region since January.At sessions with parents, she pulls out vaping devices so adults can become familiar.
"Said," said Phillips, who teaches the classes through her job St. Joseph Mercy Canton Health Center.
THE DATA SHOW THE SCOPE:
- A 2017 study conducted by the University of Michigan found that nearly 17 percent of high school seniors had been in the previous 30 days. For 10th graders, it was 13 percent, and for eighth graders, it was 7 percent. Both sets of numbers were presented in the previous year.
- In that same study, 11 percent of 12th graders said they had nicotine vaping in the past 30 days, compared with 8.2 percent for 10th graders and 3.5 percent for eighth-graders.
- The study also found that 4.9 percent of 12th graders had vaped marijuana in the previous 30 days, compared with 4.3 percent for 10th graders and 1.6 percent of eighth-graders.
- A 2015 National Youth Tobacco Survey concluded that 3 million youths – 2.4 million high school students and 620,000 middle school students – used e-cigarettes.
- Of those who used a tobacco product, 16 percent of high school students used e-cigarettes, up from 1.5 percent in 2011, according to the National Youth Tobacco Survey.
- A 2017 study published in the journal Pediatrics found that youth who use cigarettes are seven times more likely to move on cigarettes.
In 2015, the UM survey asked students why they're using e-cigarettes.
The most popular replies among high school seniors: To experience and see what it's like, because it tastes good, because they're bored and have nothing else to do, to relax or relieve tension, and to have a good time with their friends.
The students' attitudes worry experts.
"There's a big misconception about the dangers of it," Phillips said. "When it first came out and became trendy, students really thought that they were inhaling and there was nothing harmful about it and it was nothing wrong with it."
The reality? Phillips and others say that "we do know that many of the chemicals are in the process of being ingested by vaping are in general dangerous to the human body."
Some products have as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes, but not all e-cigarettes contain nicotine. Many do, however, contain harmful substances, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The US surgeon general's website says that besides nicotine, e-cigarettes can contain "ultrafine particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs," "such as a diacetyl, a chemical linked to volatile lung disease," "volatile organic compounds," and "Heavy metals, such as nickel, tin, and lead."
E-cigarettes were targeted at smokers.
A January report from the National Academy of Medicine said e-cigarette use poses "less risk to an individual than fuel tobacco cigarettes."
But middle and high school students have been a particular concern because their brains are still developing, and will continue developing into their 20s.
"When you have teenage brains that are works in progress – the use of any substance, whether it's nicotine gold or marijuana or alcohol or anything at all, it's going to have effects," said Charlene McGunn, executive director of the Chippewa Valley Coalition for Youth. and Families, a partnership between the community and Chippewa Valley Schools.
Sobah is a member of the coalition's teen council.
"The FDA has been a long-time target, and the increase in youth is truly epidemic," McGunn said.
Meanwhile, there is concern that the nicotine in many of the products will lead to an increase in teen smoking, as well as addicted to nicotine. It's already being felt among the kids who are vaping. Those who are bold enough to be in the class are not necessary.
JUL, Vuse, MarkTenXL, Blu and Logic – have become popular with young people. In letters to those companies, Scott Gottlieb, commissioner of the federal agency, said the FDA is "evaluating our regulatory tools to address this disturbing and accelerating trend."
This summer, the FDA conducted an "enforcement of nationwide," "blaming of retailers nationwide," and "selling cigarettes" – including e-cigarettes – to minors. More than 1,100 warnings and 130 civil monetary fines were issued.
"This is unacceptable, both legally and as a matter of public health," Gottlieb said in the letters sent to manufacturers.
Michigan is the only state in the nation without a law on the books of e-cigarettes – and other vaping devices – to minors, Phillips said.
Legislation has been proposed in recent years, but it has never materialized into a law. That means the federal law applies, but Phillips said it has limitations because it does not contain the product of e-cigarette products.
She said some cities in Michigan have updated their local ordinances to include such a ban.
But, "In townships and cities is not a law related to its use, a 15-year-old could be sitting on a bench and can not do anything," Phillips said.
Students are getting their hands on the devices in a variety of ways.
"We encourage parents to monitor their child's (online) purchases," said Nicole Carter, principal at Novi High School.
"A lot of parents have … accounts that students are able to have access to. For some parents … they had never really connected to the fact that they should not be affected by this.
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