Saugus wants to add the dangers of vaping to its school curriculum following news of deaths linked to the substance.
The School Committee wants the lesson to begin with fourth graders, because they believe elementary school students in the district could be addicted to nicotine.
“If you have kids who are using these, they could be very much addicted,” said chairwoman Jeannie Meredith. “It’s not easy to just say ‘now that we know it’s bad for you, you need to stop’. We knew this was coming and it’s worse than we thought, I think.”
Gov. Charlie Baker declared a public health emergency in response to public health concerns about unexplained vaping-related illness Tuesday. The sale of all vape products, including both tobacco and marijuana, will be prohibited until Jan. 25, 2020.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 530 cases of lung injury across 38 states.
The State Department of Public Health mandated earlier this month that Massachusetts physicians immediately report any unexplained vaping-associated pulmonary disease to the department. As of Tuesday, 61 cases had been reported.
Many of the patients reported recent use of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)- containing products and others reported using both THC and nicotine products. No single product has been linked to all cases.
Superintendent Dr. David DeRuosi said the district’s three home-school liaisons can help educate fourth- and fifth-graders about vaping. Two liaisons were hired last year and a third joined the team at the start of this school year. One liason works with students at the elementary level, one at the middle school, and the third works with high schoolers.
School Committee member Liz Marchese said she was particularly concerned that students might illegally obtain vape products that are not regulated and could contain other harmful substances.
“I think it’s going to get a lot worse,” said Meredith. “My biggest fear is that we need to educate the kids and the parents because a lot of parents have no idea. We need to teach these kids at a younger age. We need to get into the fourth grade.”
