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Up in smoke EHS and police change vape policy from punishment to education

Confiscated vape pens are lined up on Officer Creaghe's desk in an effort to show the increased use of the device.

Photo by Joe Moraja

EHS Photojournalism students took a deep dive into the issue of vaping and the change in rules around the electric cigarette. The hope is to educate students and keep them out of the school-to-court pipeline. Englewood Police officer & SRO Matt Creaghe spoke to the students about the issue. 

"So right here, what you have is a representation of every ticket that could have been issued. Every one of these was an instance where instead what we offered was either coaching or an alternative to police involvement. So all of these things were based on trying to educate rather than trying to criminalize it," said Officer Matt Creaghe. There are more than 60 vape pens and paraphernalia collected since the start of the school year. 

In 2021, most youth who reported using e-cigarettes used flavored varieties (84.7%). Among middle and high school students who currently used any type of flavored e-cigarette in 2021, the most commonly used flavors were fruit (71.6%), candy, desserts, or other sweets (34.1%), mint (30.2%), and menthol (28.8%).

Source: https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/Quick-Facts-on-the-Risks-of-E-cigarettes-for-Kids-Teens-and-Young-Adults.html

Photo by: Aaron Gerber

"This is under a semester. I would say I would average it more like a week. And so there would be what we have like 52 weeks in a year. This is less than a semester and there are almost 60. I think you're looking at three to four a week in the school year. So almost one a day," said Creaghe.

According to the CDC, E-cigarettes are also known as electronic devices. When inhaled, the liquid is heated and it produces smoke.

E-cigarettes are known by many different names. They are sometimes called “e-cigs,” “e-hookahs,” “mods,” “vape pens,” “vapes,” “tank systems,” and “electronic nicotine delivery systems or ENDS.”

Source: www.cdc.gov

Photo by: Aaron Gerber

"What we're finding here is that these are catered to kids in such a way that it may lead them into other drugs. So what we try to do is try to educate them early on to know what this marketing is doing. And how all of these things put together is actually programming their brain to be more likely to start to do other things beyond this," said Officer Creaghe.

It has been found that most e-cigarettes contain the same addictive drug found in cigarettes, nicotine.

The CDC found nicotine is very harmful to the developing teen brain because the brain keeps developing until about age 25.

Source: www.cdc.gov

Photo by: Elowyn Fahnestock

Photo by: Elowyn Fahnestock

WHAT RESTRICTIONS ARE IN PLACE FOR RETAIL OR YOUTH ACCESS?

Sale and distribution of nicotine products to persons under age 21 prohibited.

Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 18-13-121(1)(a); 25-14-301(2)(a); 44-7-103(1) (2021)

Source: https://www.publichealthlawcenter.org/resources/us-e-cigarette-regulations-50-state-review/co

Source: https://casaa.org/get-involved/state-locator/colorado/

In previous years, EHS students caught with a vape pen would be issued a criminal summons, be processed through the criminal justice system, issued a fine, and given probation. The police department and the school collectively agreed to change this process and turn the encounter into an educational moment. This change took effect in the fall of 2021.

"So typically, what we would do is you'd be issuing someone with a ticket to court and then they would just be going through the criminal justice system. Meeting with a judge having a fine imposed possible probation, things like that. That isn't to say that those things might not still happen. But right now, what we're really just trying to do is to educate kids on just making the most informed decisions and not falling down this little pathway at this young of an age," said Officer Creaghe.

Officer Creaghe shows students a large number of vape pens confiscated in 2022. He is passionate about keeping kids safe from e-cigarettes. Photo by Angeline Franco
Photo by Angeline Franco

There are a few things students should be aware of including whether a criminal summons stays on your record.

"It can. If a person is to go on to commit certain crimes, it'll stay on their permanent record. This instance (confiscating a vape) is a one-time sort of incident, one moment that does not define who the person is. That can then be expunged from the record after a certain number of months or years," Officer Creaghe.

The impact of the sheer number of vape pens and paraphernalia is astonishing to students who have seen them laid out this way for the first time. Photo by Dominick Torres
Officer Creaghe clenches his fists as he warns students about vaping. Photo by Corsten Bystrom

According to research by the CDC;

E-cigarette aerosol is NOT harmless “water vapor.”

The e-cigarette aerosol that users breathe from the device and exhale can contain harmful and potentially harmful substances, including:

Nicotine

Ultrafine particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs

Flavorings such as diacetyl, a chemical linked to a serious lung disease

Volatile organic compounds

Cancer-causing chemicals

Heavy metals such as nickel, tin, and lead

Source: https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/Quick-Facts-on-the-Risks-of-E-cigarettes-for-Kids-Teens-and-Young-Adults.html

Photo by Corsten Bystrom

Among teens who currently used e-cigarettes, 43.6% of high school students and 17.2% of middle school students reported using e-cigarettes for 20 or more of the past 30 days. Also among current users, more than 1 in 4 (27.6%) high school students and about 1 in 12 (8.3%) middle school students who used e-cigarettes used them daily.

These vapes are illegal for anyone under the age of 21 at the federal and state level. Federal law also says you can't sell flavored pods. Photo by CC Carr

For teens who currently used e-cigarettes, the most commonly used e-cigarette device type was disposables (53.7%), followed by prefilled or refillable pods or cartridges (28.7%), and tanks or mod systems (9.0%).

Source:

Englewood police have the authority to take your tobacco and vape products. Photo by David Nieto-Marchan

"Oftentimes, this is a great tool for people that are trying to get people into smoking THC, marijuana, things of that sort, and we're able to correlate those two very, very easily. So whereas kids may not make that jump from smoking cigarettes to marijuana, we are finding oftentimes, kids that have vapes also have got weed on them and things like that. So obviously what we want to try and break that pattern," said Officer Creaghe.

Photo by David Nieto-Marchan
Confiscated vapes are lined up on the hood of Officer Creaghe's police cruiser. Photo by Dylan Koyama

According to the CDC, many teens smoke cigarettes as well as vape. In addition, there is some evidence that teens who start early and use e-cigarettes may be more likely to smoke cigarettes in the future.

Officer Creaghe sets up the vapes he has taken from students in just the spring semester (2022). Photo by Jeremiah Cimino
Photo by Jeremiah Cimino
The vape pens in this photo include "DAB" pens that have liquid THC. The bright colors of the pens and the fruit flavors attract young users. There are federal laws that prohibit the sale of flavors to minors. Photo by Michael Aragon
Photo by Aztlan Medina

A study released in September of 2021 from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that more than 2 million U.S. middle and high school students reported currently using e-cigarettes in 2021, with more than 8 in 10 of those youth using flavored e-cigarettes.

Source: www.cdc.gov

Vapes come in all shapes and sizes and some need liquid. These students found flavors that are banned for sale in Colorado. Photo by Isaiah Bachicha
Photo by Isaiah Bachicha

"It is important that parents take the time to speak to their kids about staying away from vaping and other drugs. Oftentimes parents are unaware of how accessible vapes and drugs are to today's youth," said Creaghe.

Get the "Talk With Your Teen About E-cigarettes" tip sheet for parents. The CDC encourages all guardians to start the conversation early with children about why e-cigarettes are harmful to them.

Talk to your teens about vaping

In 2018, the FDA expanded its successful youth tobacco prevention campaign, “The Real Cost,” to reach the more than 10 million youth aged 12–17 who have used e-cigarettes or are open to trying them. The campaign educates youth about the potential risks of using e-cigarettes.

Campaign Link

Click on the link above to learn more about programs to keep students from using vape products.

"I would say that for the most part, our school here is great. The kids are very, very respectful. I am yet to have had a negative encounter with a kid about this. Most of the time, kids are smart enough to realize that they shouldn't have these items on them. There isn't any type of a fight or an argument over it. The only thing that I think that I really care about is just moving forward positively from it. I just tried to convey to them the ultimate messages which are your health, your well-being, and things like that," said Officer Creaghe.