Is Anti-Vape Propaganda Having an Adverse Effect on Children’s Safety?

Disturbing allegations were made in January 2023 after a family sued their 13-year-old daughter’s school board and three school staff members after the alleged strip-search of the child over a vape device. According to the family’s attorney, the 8th-grade student’s locker and backpack were inspected by the principal, who, after finding nothing, instructed the child to step into the nurse’s office where she was later asked to take off her clothes for a body search and was not able to refuse or leave the room.

The vape was never found but the student was still suspended. After being asked about the subject, the Willoughby Eastlake School Board out of East Lake, Ohio did not provide any solid comments on the allegations in the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges the violation of the student’s constitutional rights, undertrained school staff, and intentionally inflicted emotional stress on a minor.

This case is important to look into because it raises a few questions regarding regulations and anti-vaping efforts.

Are Anti-Vaping Efforts Going Too Far?

It’s understood that anti-vaping campaigns are done with the intention of protecting younger audiences from activities that are clearly unhealthy, like vaping or smoking. These efforts ignore the other part of the population and potential vaping audiences (adults, active smokers, etc.) that it could be beneficial for, especially when it comes to people who are looking for an alternative that could help them mitigate the effects of smoking cigarettes and tobacco use. That said, when strict measures are taken into place and public communication from agencies like the FDA is so adamant about how vaping is so bad and how it should be stopped at all costs, horror stories like the one discussed here are bound to happen every now and then.

Even if underage vaping should be stopped, which we’re totally in agreement with, the “at all costs” part can be quite dangerous. Especially if anti-vaping agencies don’t use that same exact language, the way they communicate evidently makes people in power think that way.

It’s incredibly clear that the teachers and nurses involved in this case were trying to look after the well-being of students, but in cases like this one, it’s only natural to ask whether or not people in power are properly trained to act appropriately. Plus, investigate how strongly they are influenced by anti-vaping propaganda, how far they’re willing to go because of it, and how wrong the final outcome can be.

Final Thoughts

It’s clear that underage vaping is harmful to our communities. It’s also clear that processes must be put in place to stop the harmful effects and that school staff and other people in charge of enforcement should be properly trained on how to stop them. The message that smoking is bad for you and that using tobacco should be left to adults is something that we’re on board with; in fact, we’re on board with the same message for vaping as well. But it’s also incredibly clear that the way the message is currently being communicated can have adverse effects on our community when cases like the one discussed here are taking place in our schools.