The Marcus High School Parent Teacher Student Association is inviting the community to a “Coffee with the Counselors” event for a candid roundtable discussion on teen tobacco usage on Tuesday.
Tish Raymond, president of the Marcus PTSA, said the group recently applied for, and received, a national grant to fund anti-tobacco programming. The PTSA recently participated in a health and wellness fair to inform about 600 students about the dangers of tobacco use, and Tuesday’s event is meant to inform parents and community members on the dangers of vaping.
“Vaping is the latest form of tobacco that the industry is using to get children addicted,” Raymond said. “They’ve done it in the past with dip, flavored cigars and cigarettes … they know fruity flavors appeal to children, and they use social media influencers because it’s not regulated yet.”
E-cigarettes were introduced in the U.S. in 2007, and in seven years, they became the most commonly used tobacco product among U.S. youth, according to the CDC. A 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey shows that about 14% of high school students reported using e-cigarettes, most of which contain nicotine, which can harm the developing brain. Additionally, inhaling and exhaling aerosol from vapes can potentially expose users and bystanders to other harmful substances, such as heavy metals, volatile organic compounds and ultrafine particles, according to the CDC.
“I … am emphasizing the importance of protecting our children from a lifetime of nicotine addiction and associated health risks by immediately addressing the epidemic of youth e-cigarette use,” Surgeon General Jerome Adams said in a 2018 statement. “The recent surge in e-cigarette use among youth, which has been fueled by new types of e-cigarettes that have recently entered the market, is a cause for great concern. We must take action now to protect the health of our nation’s young people.”
Vapes are easy to hide in a backpack and sneak them home or into school, Raymond said.
“Our hope is this event will provide some information to open parents’ eyes that it is not just a nuisance or a teenage trend, but it will lead to a lifelong habit,” she said. “If you take a vape from a kid, that doesn’t solve the problem … Vapes are easily and readily available, you have to treat the addiction and educate.”
Health effects aren’t the only consequences for vaping at school at Marcus, and other Texas schools. A new state law went into effect last year that will place a student in a disciplinary alternative education program (DAEP) if the student is found to possess, use, sell, give, or deliver to another person an e-cigarette device, regardless of whether the e-cigarette contains a controlled substance.
“Vaping: Nicotine & Your Teen” is scheduled for 7:45-8:45 a.m. Tuesday in the main library at Marcus High School, 5707 Morriss Road. Breakfast will be served. Dr. Rick Rayl, co-owner of Grace Counseling, will provide a short presentation on the effects of nicotine and vaping on adolescents. Marcus counselors and School Resource Officers will also speak during the program. You don’t have to be a Marcus parent to attend, it is open to anyone in the community.
Click here for more information about the risks of e-cigarettes for young people.
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