Vaping detectors coming to a school near you

Back when Eric Laberge was a classroom teacher, he would catch students trying to vape in class or in the hallways.

“I distinctively remember, you know, puffs of white smoke, and going, ‘Where the hell did that come from?” said Laberge, who’s the district president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF). “I know that congregating in the washrooms in just about every school and students vaping, there is an issue.”

He said vaping is a “cat and mouse” situation for teachers and administrators to deal with, as vaping is a bit more unobtrusive and easier to hide than smoking a cigarette.

The Ontario government is strengthening the rules around students caught using or carrying vapes or cigarettes.

Students will be required to surrender these products, along with parents being notified immediately of the situation. The government also officially announced $30 million in the 2024 budget to install vape detectors and other security upgrades in schools.

In terms of the detectors, Laberge said they’re a good tool to use, but he’s not sure if school administrators will be able to keep up with the notifications.

“The question is now, from a realistic enforcement perspective for the administrators, now that these detectors are going to be in place, and they're going to get notifications, how much time and energy are they going to be spending in trying to deal with these notifications,” he said.

“Is that taking away from their ability to do other important jobs in terms of supporting staff and students in daily learning?”

Rainbow District School Board director of education Bruce Bourget said the board does already have some detectors, but the board hasn’t yet received funding for the devices from the Ministry of Education.

“It is forthcoming from the ministry,” he said, adding that the Rainbow board will be first focusing on high schools to install the devices.

“At this point, what we are doing is looking at vendors and doing assessments of the different types of products out there, in terms of vape detection, and looking at an installation plan upon receipt of the product.”

Bourget said when the detectors go off, principals or vice-principals will go and make a check of the location (say, a washroom). 

Vaping is a code of conduct violation, and is subject to progressive discipline, up to and including suspension.

“That's where the administrator’s experience comes in, and they certainly deal with that very properly, but the communication home and all those pieces are part of an appropriate response,” he said.

Bourget points out that vaping has never been allowed in schools — the only changes have been some updates to the code of conduct and new signage in schools. “No one's ever been permitted to vape in class, or do any of those types of things,” he said.

According to Statistics Canada, while smoking rates among youth are low, they are much more likely to vape than the older crowd.

In 2022, Canadians aged 15 to 19 (30.0 per cent) were over twice as likely to have tried vaping than those aged 25 years and older (14.7 per cent). Almost half (47.5 per cent) of Canadians aged 20 to 24 have tried vaping.

Approximately one in five Canadians aged 20 to 24 and one in seven youth aged 15 to 19 reported vaping in the past month in 2022.

In 2022, one in 10 Canadians aged 20 to 24 and one in 15 youth aged 15 to 19 vaped every day compared with one in 50 Canadians aged 25 and older.

Bourget said the use of highly addictive vaping products is concerning in youth. According to Health Canada, vaping can have some negative health consequences.

“To start that process early through the use of these products, is going to have a long term circumstance that will only be determined in years to come after decades of longitudinal study, but it is a huge concern,” said Bourget, a health education teacher in his earlier life.

“I don't think people really realize how serious this is … I would hope that our students find the strength to refrain from these activities and engage in the healthy ones that are provided.” 

Heidi Ulrichsen is Sudbury.com’s assistant editor. She also covers education and the arts scene.