• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
  • Log In
Itemlive

Itemlive

North Shore news powered by The Daily Item

  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Police/Fire
  • Government
  • Obituaries
  • Archives
  • E-Edition
  • Help
This article was published 6 year(s) and 8 month(s) ago

Saugus School Department is warning parents about the dangers of vaping with an informational meeting Tuesday night

Bridget Turcotte

November 26, 2018 by Bridget Turcotte

SAUGUS — The school department is warning parents of the dangers of vaping.

The district has sought the help of The Middlesex Partnership for Youth, Inc., a Wakefield-based nonprofit that develops programming to increase the health and safety of students, to provide an informational meeting for parents to learn about the dangers of vaping. The session is intended to help parents develop an understanding of the health impacts of vaping and about how vaping materials are being packaged to attract a youthful customer, according to Superintendent Dr. David DeRuosi.

“There are a lot of concerns about the way (vapes) are being packaged,” said DeRuosi. “Middle school children are being encouraged to pick them up. It’s coming at us now in a packaging format that makes it seem like it’s OK, that it’s not filled with nicotine. We are finding (its popularity) is increasing throughout middle school populations across that state.”

Personal vaporizers heat a liquid to generate an aerosol, commonly called a vapor, that the user inhales. Some vapor products look like cigarettes, while others are larger.

A student risk survey was administered in the spring of 2017 and developed by the United States Center for Disease Control Prevention to monitor health behaviors among middle and high school students. All 91 questions were completed during a single class period on a volunteer basis.

More than 13 percent of Saugus middle-schoolers reported in the survey that they have used an electronic vapor product, including more than 26 percent of eighth-graders and 10 percent of seventh-graders.

More than 2 percent of eighth-graders said they smoked an electronic vapor product 10 to 19 days out of the past 30. More than 2 percent said between six to nine days in the past 30. More than 4 percent reported using on three to five days, and 4 percent said they used a device on one to two days.

Meanwhile, more than 98 percent of middle-schoolers said they had never smoked a cigarette. About 71 percent of students said they believed people greatly risk harming themselves physically or in other ways if they smoke one or more packs of cigarettes per day. About 24 percent said it would be a slight or moderate risk, and about 5 percent said it would not be a risk.

“Right now, we are focusing on middle schoolers,” said DeRuosi.

The hope is that the children can be reached before an issue with vaping begins, he said.

The School Committee is also working on making changes to the school’s handbook that better align with the high school handbook so rules are the same when all the students are in one building. This includes a policy, and consequences, for vaping and other tobacco use on school property.

The new Saugus Middle-High School is expected to be completed by 2020.

The event will he held at Belmonte Middle School, 5 Dow St., 6-7:30 p.m. Parents are encouraged to bring their children.

  • Bridget Turcotte
    Bridget Turcotte

    Bridget Turcotte joined The Daily Item staff as a reporter in 2015. She covers Saugus and Nahant. Follow her on Twitter @BridgetTurcotte.

    View all posts

Related posts:

No related posts.

Primary Sidebar

Advertisement

Sponsored Content

Solo Travel Safety Hacks: How to Use eSIM and Tech to Stay Connected and Secure in Australia

How Studying Psychology Can Equip You To Better Help Your Community

Solo Travel Safety Hacks: How to Use eSIM and Tech to Stay Connected and Secure in Australia

Advertisement

Upcoming Events

1st Annual Lynn Food Truck & Craft Beverage Festival presented by Greater Lynn Chamber of Commerce

September 27, 2025
Blossom Street, Lynn,01905, US 89 Blossom St, Lynn, MA 01902-4592, United States

2025 GLCC Annual Golf Tournament

August 25, 2025
Gannon Golf Club

Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board Agenda

August 19, 2025
Zoom Meeting

Alicia Villarreal Tickets

November 14, 2025
Lynn Massachusetts Boston

Footer

About Us

  • About Us
  • Editorial Practices
  • Advertising and Sponsored Content

Reader Services

  • Subscribe
  • Manage Your Subscription
  • Activate Subscriber Account
  • Submit an Obituary
  • Submit a Classified Ad
  • Daily Item Photo Store
  • Submit A Tip
  • Contact
  • Terms and Conditions

Essex Media Group Publications

  • La Voz
  • Lynnfield Weekly News
  • Marblehead Weekly News
  • Peabody Weekly News
  • 01907 The Magazine
  • 01940 The Magazine
  • 01945 The Magazine
  • North Shore Golf Magazine

© 2025 Essex Media Group