New sensor system helps schools combat vaping – The Oakland Press

The number of teens using nicotine-laced e-cigarettes is on the rise across the country, and two school districts in Oakland County have taken steps to restrict and discourage vaping in their schools.

Berkley and Hazel Park installed vape sensors in their high school and middle school restrooms more than a year ago, and both schools have seen positive results in reducing e-cigarette use and catching students using them.

Last year, Hazel Park schools recorded 44 incidents in which a student was caught with an e-cigarette containing THC, the active drug in marijuana, at the middle and high schools. In the 2023-24 school year, the district recorded 62 incidents where sensors detected e-cigarette use and two involving marijuana gummies.

Berkley High School Principal Andy Meloche said 20 sensors were installed in May 2023, while students were tested more than 100 times as part of an effort to troubleshoot issues with the sensors and the system.

“Not all of them were kids caught with vaping devices. We were working on sensor sensitivity and other software issues, learning how to use the system,” Meloche said.

Meloche said that once students knew the sensors were in place and any glitches in the system had been worked out, there were fewer than 50 incidents of sensor alerts throughout the 2023-2024 school year.

“It’s not perfect, and nothing usually is, and it doesn’t eliminate the problem completely, but one thing it did right away was eliminate students hanging out in the bathroom,” Meloche said. “I think there were a lot of times when people were vaping and handing it out, but that was eliminated the first month we implemented the system and it hasn’t come back since.”

A 2023 Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Tobacco Section report outlines what districts and administrators face.

“Nearly one-third of Michigan high school students have used e-cigarettes, and 14% report current use,” said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, MDHHS medical director. “More than 80% of youth who have used tobacco products began with flavored products. E-cigarettes are harmful to the health of our young Michiganders, and these products can be highly addictive and contain a variety of toxic chemicals and heavy metals.”

A 2022 study by the University of Michigan found that 7% of eighth-grade students, 14% of tenth-grade students, and 21% of twelfth-grade students had used a vape pen to obtain nicotine in the past 30 days.

PROCESS

Berkley has installed six more sensors at its high school, which serves 1,250 students. Sensors have also been installed at two middle schools.

The sensors look like smoke detectors, but they can recognize different things that can activate them.

The sensors can detect vapors of liquid nicotine and liquid THC released by vaping devices — such as e-cigarettes — used by students. The sensors can also detect masking agents, such as deodorant sprays, hairspray, cologne or perfume. They will also send an alert if they are tampered with.

At Berkley, if any of the sensors go off for any reason, custodians and administrators get email and text alerts and respond to a call to a designated restroom. They wait outside until students come out of the restroom and take them aside to talk to them.

“We ask them if they have anything they shouldn’t have, and if necessary, we empty their pockets and look in their backpacks if necessary, but we don’t touch the kids,” said Meloche, who is entering his seventh year as BHS principal.

If a student is found with a device, the punishment will vary.

If the device contains liquid nicotine or pure vapor, the suspension is 2-3 days, but the suspension can be shortened if the student enrolls in a program through an organization like CARE of Southeast Michigan.

“Sometimes we can reduce the suspension time if they can prove to us that they have enrolled in some kind of vaping education program outside of college that will teach them more about it,” Meloche said.

If the device contains THC or marijuana, it is a violation of the school code of conduct, just like with drugs or alcohol, and results in an automatic 10-day license suspension.

Hazel Park students caught will be required to pay a $50 fine, participate in a school-wide vaping education program and possibly face suspension.

“It’s a classroom experience, kind of like an out-of-school suspension, but not because we’re working on social-emotional learning and vaping education,” Hazel Park Principal Amy Kruppe said of the program.

Students caught vaping with marijuana products face a citation, a 10-day suspension, and a meeting with the superintendent. Students can shorten their suspension by meeting with the superintendent sooner.

Meloche estimated the initial cost of installing the software and sensors at the high school was about $25,000, and the total cost the district is currently spending is just under $60,000.

All costs for the sensor system were covered by a state grant, and the district now owns all hardware and software.

“Although we funded this through grants, we own them exclusively and they will be a permanent part of our project going forward,” Meloche said.

Kruppe would not disclose how many sensors the district currently has or how much they cost, but said the devices are durable and their cost was covered by a state security grant, similar to what is done at Berkeley.

SITUATION

Recent studies and reports have revealed how common vaping is both nationally and state-by-state, as well as the policies individual counties are implementing.

The 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey found that nationwide, 7.7% of students (2.1 million) reported current e-cigarette use, with the figure rising to 10% (1.5 million) of high school students and 4.6% (550,000) of high school students.

The study also found that students are not experimenting with vaping just occasionally.

More than 1 in 4 – 25.2% of current young e-cigarette users e-cigarette every day, and more than 1 in 3 – 34.7% of users report having used e-cigarettes at least 20 times in the last 30 days.

The most commonly used device among current e-cigarette users was disposables at 60.7%, followed by pre-filled/replaceable cartridges or refills at 16.1%.

According to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, 33.1% of Michigan high school students have tried electronic vapor products at least once in their life, and 14% currently use them.

Vaporizer sensors could become more common in the state, according to the American Pulmonary Association’s 20th annual “State of Tobacco Control” report, released in January 2022.

The report rates all 50 states and the District of Columbia in five areas where they have been proven to prevent and reduce tobacco use. Michigan received the following ratings:

F – Funding for tobacco prevention programs in the states
C – The Power of Smoke-Free Air Regulations
F – State Tobacco Tax Level
D – Scope and access to smoking cessation services
F – End of sales of all flavored tobacco products

“Kids are into flavors, so ending the sale of all flavored tobacco products in Michigan is key to ending youth tobacco use,” Ken Fletcher, director of advocacy at the Lung Association, said in the report. “We urge lawmakers in Lansing to ban the sale of all flavored tobacco products, including menthol, throughout Michigan.”

Enforcement policies and penalties for smoking vary by state, but the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has established guidelines.