Elyse Rioux suspects there is a substance abuse problem at Chapel Hill High School.
But Chapel Hill is not alone.
Vaping has become an alarming problem in high schools across the nation, leading Rioux, student at the University of North Carolina’s School of Nursing, to focus on public health intervention at Chapel Hill through a scavenger hunt on November 13, the Daily Roar and students’ health classes.
She concluded from research that many students think that e-cigarettes are a safer product than regular cigarettes. However, many studies have proved the opposite.
Rioux took a multi-step approach to her public health intervention. She sent out information about vaping and why teens should stay away from it in the Daily Roar, the daily emails Chapel Hill High School’s administration sends to students and teachers. Additionally, Rioux made PowerPoints for freshman health classes, illustrating the dangers of vaping.
To reach more students, Rioux hosted a scavenger hunt at Chapel Hill High School on November 13 where students learned facts about vaping by looking for posters Rioux hung around the school. Rioux spent the day encouraging students to participate, starting conversations about vaping and answering any questions they had.
Freshman Danya Hussein volunteered to help with the event.
“I wanted to partake in this scavenger hunt to learn about the effects of vaping,” Hussein said. “I wanted to help spread the message about why high school students shouldn’t vape.”
Among the most popular vaping devices on the market are Juuls. Juul pods are small cartridges that contain flavored liquid and nicotine to put in Juuls. One Juul pod contains 59 milligrams of nicotine, while the average cigarette contains about 12 milligrams of nicotine. Rioux found that the nicotine in one Juul pod is equivalent to the average pack of cigarettes.
Rioux said that many adults do not understand the risks of vaping because companies market e-cigarettes to seem safe. Children may be attracted to the packaging of vaping liquids, which are often branded to look like candy. According to Rioux, many people have died from nicotine poisoning after using e-cigarettes.
One poster for the scavenger hunt read, “Did You Know? Vape devices can catch on fire and explode, causing injury and death. Vape liquids can also cause nicotine toxicity, resulting in death from accidental ingestion or absorption through the skin.”
Chapel Hill school nurse Lorraine Bleeke helped Rioux with her project.
“I have learned a lot about vaping products from Elyse being here,” Bleeke said. “As a nurse, I participate in continuing education to make sure I stay up to date. However, there aren’t many long-term studies about e-cigarettes like there are for regular cigarettes.”
According to the U.S. Surgeon General, there was a 900% increase in use of vaping products among high school students from 2011 to 2016. The 2016 National Tobacco Youth Survey stated that 1.7 million high school students had used e-cigarettes in the last 30 days.
Through the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), conducted in 2017, Rioux found that 52% of Chapel Hill-Carrboro high schoolers believe that e-cigarettes are not harmful, while 12% believe that regular cigarettes are low-risk.
“I want to reach as many students as I can to inform them that vaping is not as safe as it seems, and I want them to be informed before they make these decisions,” Rioux said.
