4 Portland HS Students Become Sick After Vaping: Superintendent

PORTLAND, CT — Four Portland High School students complained of illness Tuesday after vaping, requiring an ambulance to be called to the scene as a precaution, announced Portland Schools Superintendent Philip B. O'Reilly.

The students, who had been vaping in a boy's bathroom, were taken to the nurse's office for evaluation, but whether any of them required a trip to a hospital was not disclosed.

"This afternoon, there was an incident at the Portland High School in which four students fell ill after reportedly vaping in the boys’ bathroom," said O'Reilly in a statement to Patch. "Out of a preponderance of caution, emergency medical personnel were called to the school and medical professionals are now evaluating all four.

"As always, student safety is of utmost concern. The administration will thoroughly investigate the matter and will address this incident in accordance with [Board of Education] policy."

District officials did not disclose additional details of the incident or the students' current conditions. The issue of vaping is a nationwide concern and earlier this year school officials in Stratford confirmed elementary students at Second Hill Lane were vaping during recess.

At the time, Assistant Principal Amy Pinto wrote in a letter to parents that they were "saddened to report that students were vaping in our upper grades during recess."

"Several students were interviewed and families of students directly involved were contacted," Pinto wrote in the letter. "Your child may have witnessed this or heard about it from students talking. We hope this notice will serve as a way of starting a conversation about vaping.
"As you may already know, vaping devices can come in many forms that are easily concealable, they can resemble pens or USB flash drives. The visible 'smoke' does not linger or leave a strong scent."

Earlier this month, Daniel Hand High School in Madison caused a stir when they informed parents that they planned to have a police dog search the school regularly in an effort to crackdown on vaping and other drugs.

"This will lead up to a time when numerous drug sniffing canines visit Daniel Hand with the intent of identifying any illegal drugs on our campus. We hope that this partnership with the Madison Police Department will further deter students from abusing illegal drugs," Madison school officials wrote in a letter to parents earlier this month.

E-cigarettes are battery operated devices designed to deliver nicotine with flavorings and other chemicals to users in vapor instead of smoke. Connecticut state law makes it illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to buy or possess in public and e-cigarette or vapor product and for anyone to sell, give, or deliver them to a minor. Violators are subjected to some of the same penalties the law imposes on those who commit similar violations involving tobacco cigarettes.

According to the FDA, more than two million middle and high school students in the U.S. were current users of e-cigarettes in 2017. E-cigarette use rose from 1.5 percent to 11.7 percent among high school students and from 0.6 percent to 3.3 percent among middle school students from 2011 to 2017, according to the FDA.

According to a 2013-2014 survey, 81 percent of current youth e-cigarette users cited the availability of appealing flavors as the primary reason for use.

Read more about e-cigarettes and vaping at the FDA website here.

Image via Shutterstock

With reporting by Vincent Salzo and Brian McCready, Patch editors.

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