NASHUA – A popular rock song of the 1970s and 1980s spoke of “Smokin’ in the Boys Room.”

However, nearly half of Nashua High School North and South students participating in a recent survey said they have seen peers vape – not in the restroom – but in the classroom.

As for the restrooms, more than 75% of students polled said they have seen people using vape products there.

Despite ongoing efforts to curb nicotine usage among local students, a fall 2019 survey by the Nashua Prevention Coalition shows a slight increase in the number of students who reported using vaping devices to deliver nicotine. Officials have been going to city schools to address this vaping trend and provide education.

The coalition administered the survey during the spring and fall semesters last year for health students at both North and South.

Coalition Programming Director Kameo Chasse knows there is still a lot of work to do, but is confident moving forward with addressing this issue, citing the Nashua School District as a strong partner for addressing this topic.

“I do think we have the ability to prevent and reduce the prevalence of vaping in Nashua youth,” Chasse said.

When comparing results, the spring 2019 health class results show that 45.8% of participants reported using a vape in their lifetime, while 22.5% reported doing this in the last 30 days.

In the fall, the number of participants vaping in their lifetime jumped to 47.4%, while 25.3% admitted to doing so in the last 30 days.

Officials said the majority of students surveyed were age 15.

“It’s certainly a scary thing seeing the rise in vaping amongst youth,” Nashua High School North Principal Nate Burns said.

While staff members are not always able to catch students who have these devices, Burns said they are catching kids on a weekly basis. At North, Burns said they get reports of vaping almost daily. Burns believes vaping is certainly something the district has seen increase significantly during the last few years. However, he said it is not just a Nashua problem, a New Hampshire problem or even a New England problem. Vaping has increasingly become a nationwide issue among youth, and school officials are now doing a lot to educate their students on the matter, as is the case with the coalition coming in and speaking with health classes.

Similarly, Nashua High School South Principal Keith Richard also said vaping is something South has been dealing with in recent years. Richard said it caught officials by surprise, as they had to quickly familiarize themselves with the concept.

“We certainly are dealing with kids on a frequent basis with regards to vaping,” Richard said.

Burns and Richard said they are consistent when it comes to disciplining their students found vaping on school grounds. If a student is discovered to be using, or even merely possessing, a vape-related product, they receive an out-of-school suspension. Richard said this typically lasts three days.

Burns said he does not believe school officials have seen quite as much vaping in the classroom this year, citing that it is mostly occurring in the restrooms. Indeed, the survey found there has been a decrease in the percentage of students who have seen peers vaping in school, both in restrooms and classrooms.

In spring 2019, 81.5% of students reported seeing peers vaping in bathrooms, while 52.6% said they saw the same activity in the classroom. By fall, these figures dropped to 75.9% and 43.4%, respectively.

“I do think the majority of usage is probably outside of school,” Chasse said.

Regardless of where the vape usage is happening, the survey also shows there was a 9.6% increase in youth trying to stop vaping (67.9% in spring 2019 to 77.5% in fall 2019).

While this survey is specifically targeted toward public high school students in Nashua, Chasse said the numbers are increasing across New Hampshire. She plans to follow up on the survey this spring, and is hopeful that these statistics will show a drop in usage. Chasse believes children are starting to recognize the risk involved with vaping, and are definitely becoming aware they are being targeted by some vape companies.

“I think continuing this collaboration is going to lead to meaningful change,” Chasse said.

Adam Urquhart may be contacted at 594-1206, or at aurquhart@nashuatelegraph.com.

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