The Finger Lakes Community College (Gemini) Biology Class at North Rose Wolcott completed a learning service project on the effects of smoking and vaping. A student survey, professional development training for faculty, an informational video and social and traditional media postings educated the school community.
Hannah Cook, Kassidy Lake, Taylor Malchoff, Jenna Roelle and Kiara Ticconi completed the project with significant contributions from Shaylee Brown, Katie Frazer, Emily Graham and Connor Leous. Gemini classes earn both high school and community college credit for the same course work. The adjunct teacher is Ms. Heidi Rothfuss.
Vaping has become an epidemic with youth. High school and college age young adults can be seen increasingly vaping in many social situations. E-cigarettes were originally designed as a cessation tool. E-cig and tobacco companies created advertising campaigns to specifically target new consumers and focused these ads on youth. Advertising employs youthful themes and media with bright colors to encourage vaping. A persuasive video was created and shown to inform the high school students (about 375) of the health issues of vaping.
Nicotine is a very addictive drug found in vapes. It has negative effects on the part of the brain responsible for learning, attention, and memory. It is a stimulant and produces physical and emotional effects that for a short time are pleasing. Nicotine can damage the developing brain and creates permanent, neural and addictive pathways. As nicotine use continues, tolerance levels builds up, causing the need for a higher/stronger hit of nicotine over time. Nicotine is highly addictive and is a gate way drug. Long term vaping can cause the same diseases and conditions as traditional tobacco such as: lung cancer, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), mouth and tooth decay, high blood pressure and heart disease.
Since vaping is a fairly new behavior, little research has been done on long term effects. Scientific studies are just beginning and it will take decades before results are in. Vapers may experience permanent and chronic health damage before studies are completed and published. Few federal and state regulations exist at the current time. Vaping has become popular so quickly that legislation has not had the opportunity to catch up.
According to the NR-W junior and senior high survey (self-reported) on vaping behaviors and student knowledge about vaping, 40.8% of NR-W High School students have tried smoking or vaping. This compares to 20.8% of high school students nationally. While 34.8% of NR-W junior high students smoke or vape in NR-W, nationally only 4.9% of junior As part of the project, the FLCC Biology class educated about 50 high school teachers on vaping devices and behaviors. The most common vape used by youth is the Juul. The Juul is easy to hide by students and Juul may contain higher nicotine levels than other e-cigs. Juul pods can be found in 750+ e-liquid flavors which many are dessert and candy flavored. It is difficult to distinguish the e-cig vapors from perfumes and other common scents.
While conducting research on this project, the class read over 35 journal resources and wrote a scientific paper. Three professionals in the drug community were interviewed including: Lynn Reimer, the President of the Act on Drugs Campaign in Denver, Colorado; Dr. Lynn Richter, the Director of Policy Research and Analysis at the Center of Addiction in NYC; Patti Snyder, an employee at a local Smokers Choice and the School Resource Officer, Deputy Brian Pitt. The Gemini report was shared with community leaders along with suggestions of how to educate and discourage youth from vaping.
Gemini student work for this project can be accessed through the North Rose Wolcott website. (www.nrwcs. org) The access tab is located: “Schools Tab”, choose “North Rose Wolcott High School”, scroll down to “Headlines & Features”, select “FLCC Class Completes Vaping Project. The tab includes: the scientific literature report, high school video shown in forum, faculty slide presentation, standard media postings and additional internet resources on vaping. https://www.fda. gov/TobaccoProducts/PublicHealthEducation/ ProtectingKidsfromTobacco/ ucm625887.htm
by Kiara Ticconi, Junior at North Rose Wolcott HS
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