A Channing, Texas school district is altering its student dress code in response to a teen vaping epidemic.

From Fox News:

According to a federally-funded survey, twice as many high school students used nicotine-based electronic cigarettes, such as Juuls, in 2018 than the previous year – the largest single-year increase in the survey’s 44-year history.

As reported by Amarillo’s ABC 7, the Channing Independent School District was alerted that students were vaping on campus. Subsequently,

Superintendent Robert McClain explained, an investigation ensued:

“We found a couple of juuls, that are like vape pens, and confiscated them. We went to the internet trying to figure out, ‘Okay how big a problem is this?'”

From KVII:

After reading about how popular vaping is becoming and how the students can hide it by exhaling into long sleeved clothing, the district felt it needed to change the dress code. School staff are also monitoring restrooms in between classes.

So McClain decided the student body should look like a sea of exposed wrists:

“If they’re wearing long sleeves of any sort they got to pull them up or roll them up basically two or three inches above the wrist. When they put their hands to their face we know its not’s going on.”

Parent Renee Miller is glad:

“As a parent, I want my kids to know that everybody is watching out for them because it takes a community to raise a child. I feel the staff is watching out for the kids, and that’s the best interest.”

It should be noted that, despite the goofy assertion of Hillary Clinton, it does NOT “take a village” to raise a child. It takes a really good mother and father.

But it doesn’t take a hoodie. And McClain — like, I would guess, Geraldo — would love to do away with the hooded tops. But some dudes and chicks like to learn real cozylike:

“We considered doing away with hoodies completely, but some of our kids are cold-natured. Some of our kids like the hoodies. I don’t want to punish our kids, but I want to keep our kids safe.”

Here’s some information on vaping, courtesy of Physicians Weekly:

[R]esearch clearly demonstrates there are a multitude of harmful effects that come along with vaping. The flavoring additives, so popular with teenagers, have come under scrutiny. Study findings published in July in an American Heart Association journal suggest that e-cigarette flavorings may damage blood vessels and the heart. One study quantified six different pyrazine additives in ecigarettes. Pyrazines have previously been found to have synergistic effects on nicotine addiction by increasing appeal, easing smoking initiation, and discouraging cessation. Also, they are known as potentially toxic to the reproductive tract. It has also been demonstrated that fruit flavorings and other additives are frequently used by teens and young adults who vape, potentially putting them at risk. Among the toxic chemicals found in ecigarettes are aldehydes. One study looked at the respiratory uptake of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde specifically. The results showed that both were increased during vaping. … While many argue that vaping is not addictive like smoking regular cigarettes, they fail to acknowledge that the same addictive ingredient is present in both: nicotine. In fact, it’s possible that higher levels of nicotine are present in the serum of vapers. This in turn increases cancer risks by stimulating nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAchRs).

Not good.

If a Channing School District student is caught vaping, they get suspended, boy!

What a change we’ve undergone — in the 90’s, teens were smoking cigarettes at school in the open. Perhaps soon, we’ll see vaping shut down in American high schools, and adolescents’ll be passing the class time lighting up doobies. Welcome to prograss.

-Alex

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