Raleigh school calls EMS over vaping-related incident; school nurses issue warnings

May 7—Nurses in Raleigh County Schools are warning students about the effects of vaping, which can not only lead to lifelong consequences but can also be deadly.

Just last week, Raleigh County Schools Superintendent Serena Starcher said first responders were called in to treat a student at the Academy of Careers and Technology for a vaping-related incident.

Starcher said she could not elaborate on the incident because of FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act), a federal law protecting the privacy of student records.

However, she said vaping is becoming a more prevalent issue in Raleigh County Schools.

"Overall, we have definitely seen an increase in vaping over the last few years," Starcher said. "Our schools are very diligent in addressing vapes when we know students are using them. Students can vape many times, almost secretly, and we don't know that they're doing it."

According to the National Institute of Health, vaping devices are battery-operated devices that people use to inhale an aerosol, which typically contains nicotine (though not always), flavorings, and other chemicals.

Vapes can resemble traditional tobacco cigarettes, cigars, or pipes, or even everyday items like pens or USB memory sticks.

Starcher said they are more commonly seeing nicotine vapes in schools but have also begun to see students with vapes that contain THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.

Angie Priddy, the school nurse for Woodrow Wilson High School and Academy of Careers and Technology, and Michele Staker, the school nurse at Daniels and Stratton Elementary Schools, say that is what makes vaping even more dangerous is that students don't always know what they're inhaling.

"It started out kids thinking they're just vaping nicotine but now you have so many things that are laced with it that you don't know," Priddy said.

Staker said there is also a growing concern that some vaping products, especially those containing THC, could be laced with fentanyl, which is highly addictive. Fentanyl is also a major contributor to fatal and nonfatal overdoses in America, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"It's scary," Staker said. "We have (fentanyl) in our community, and it can come within our schools."

Priddy said all Raleigh County Schools are now equipped with naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal drug, per a policy that was approved by the school board last year.

"Fentanyl is here, and that is very scary to me because these are kids, and we love our kids," Priddy said. "But sometimes they just don't make the right decision, and they think they're going to vape something that may just be THC or CBD, but it's not."

It is for this reason that Priddy said that while they in no way encourage vaping, they are warning students not to share vapes or vape anything they're unfamiliar with.

"They think it won't hurt them, that it's safe, that it won't be them, and they trust their friends, but you just don't know," she said.

Raising awareness, education and prevention

Priddy, the school nurse at Woodrow Wilson for the past four years, thinks vaping became more prevalent in schools following Covid when students could return to in-person learning.

"I think they've lost a lot of the education programs that they were getting in within the school system, and they had more access (to vapes)," she said.

Staker said school nurses countywide have stepped up their vaping education and prevention efforts, given the current climate.

Last year, Staker said it was the goal for all school nurses in Raleigh County to have vaping instruction in every school at every grade level.

At Woodrow, Priddy said she coordinated with the school's resource officer and spoke to 9th grade health classes to talk about the adverse effects of vaping nicotine and other substances.

She said that is now a permanent part of the countywide curriculum for 9th grade health classes.

With the younger students, Staker said the main focus in prevention and stressing the harmful effects.

Aside from the danger that comes from vaping products that could potentially be laced with unknown chemicals, Staker said the effects of nicotine, which most vape products contain, can be just as harmful.

"When you're in elementary or high school, your brain is still developing, and they're basically consuming products that are dangerous to their body and their brain," Staker said. "So they're altering the course of their life at an early age."

According to the National Institute of Health, vaping can lead to nicotine addiction and increased risk for addiction to other drugs.

It also exposes the lungs to a variety of chemicals, including those added to e-liquids, and other chemicals produced during the heating/vaporizing process.

In 2019, the CDC noted an increase in lung injuries associated with e-cigarette use or vaping.

In addition to education, Priddy said the schools also offer a cessation program run by the Community in Schools staff.

She added that it's all about meeting students where they're at and finding out ways to help.

"I think in the high school, a big part of it is just not getting the student in trouble again and again," Priddy said. "That's why I think it's great to have programs like that so we can say, 'Hey, if you got caught, here's something you may be interested in or here's something we can do to help.' Because it's an addiction."

Priddy said she also strives to create relationships with the students so they can feel comfortable coming to her if they need help in these type of circumstances.

"Part of, I think, being a school nurse within schools is creating relationships with students first, and then they'll be more apt to listen to you," she said.

Priddy said school nurses can also be a resource for parents.