Teen vaping: Prevention and resources

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - Vaping among teens and in schools is a national issue. On FOX10 Midday, we spoke with Baldwin County Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education Joe Sharp and Katie Emer from AltaPointe about the local impact.

Here is some of the info they shared:

-We do not have an immediate drug issue on our campuses, but we are concerned about the national epidemic we are hearing about from our colleagues in k-12 education.

-Baldwin County is prepared but we need parents to be educated and prepared about what is happening.

-Please do not mistake this as your traditional drug awareness event. This is a wakeup call to our local, “small town Alabama” communities about what is happening with this very deadly trend.

-Our goal is not to punish or arrest kids with drugs. That is a result of their conduct. Rather our hope is to keep anyone from dying.

-Vaping is not just e-cigarettes, a teen may not know that their vape can be laced with something deadly like fentanyl.

What happens if a kid takes one of these?

It will make them high. Potentially sick. Have a reaction to it. We haven’t even talked about its going to distract them from their schoolwork. What we don’t know is what’s in the pack. We can test and we can find out but the greater concern is that the kids could buy something and not know what’s in it until its too late. That is terrifying. This isn’t buying a bag a weed and getting caught smoking it. This is someone putting an electronic device to the lips and in haling something they can’t see and shouldn’t trust.

Baldwin County Public Schools is working to combat the issue with a focus on prevention. They are partnering with groups like the Baldwin County Community Alliance and AltaPointe health to have resources available.

Baldwin County Community Alliance

https://proudtobefreebaldwin.org/

AltaPointe and BayPointe Health

https://altapointe.org/

https://altapointe.org/locations/baypointe-hospital/

24/7 ‘Access to Care’ line

251-450-2211

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