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15 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,A pril 18,2019 insidehalton.com !STUC ECIRP WEN !EDIWEROTS .ylno snoitacol gnisolc ni dilaV .ylppa snoitpecxe detimiL MOC.SRETTIFTUOEMOH TA UOY RAEN NOITACOL EHT DNIF .ylppa yam stnuocsid rehtruF .ecirp lanigiro ffo %52 tsael ta fo ecirp decuder ydaerla na stneserper esidnahcrem decirp ecnaraelC .noitacol yb yrav yam noitceleS .sreffo rehto htiw denibmoc eb ton yam stnuocsiD .seuqehc oN .sesahcrup roirp ot stnemtsujda oN .detnuosid eb ton lliw sdrac tfig yaB s'nosduH ro srettiftuO emoH .segnahcxe ro snruter oN .lanif era selas llA .ylno snoitacol gnisolc srettiftuO emoH ta dilaV %04-52 !SEOHS DNA ,SEIROSSECCA ,SGABDNAH ,NOIHSAF ECNARAELC SEROTS LLA NI ELBALIAVA WON FFO FFO ECIRP DETEKCIT TSAL %04 SGNIHSINRUF EMOH ARTXE NA EKAT %01 ERUTINRUF MOOR GNINID · ERUTINRUF MOOR GNIVIL ERUTINRUF MOORDEB · STES SSERTTAM NO EVAS ECIRP DECUDER Don'tDelay! BookYour CoolingTune-UpToday Call and ScheduleNow! 289-205-3443 *Restrictions apply, call for details. AskHowYouCanPay As LowAs $1199*+HST it's not in the washrooms anymore," said William Charlebois, the Oakville student trustee for the HCDSB. The Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey for 2016-17 found that the prevalencefound that the prevalencef of students who had tried an e-cigarette was at 23 per cent; 10 per cent of students had used an e-cigarette in the past 30 days. Vaping is the act of in-Vaping is the act of in-V haling an aerosol pro- duced by an electronic de- vice. The devices tend to be small, hand-held, and un- like smoking do not re- quire burning. Instead, the liquid is heated into a va- pour before being turned into an aerosol for inhal- ing. The vapour is generally flavoured as everythingflavoured as everythingf from cotton candy to ap-from cotton candy to ap-f ple. It can, but does not necessarily, contain nico- tine. Stephanie Mazza, the Burlington student trustee with the HCDSB, felt that an education-based re- sponse to vaping needed to happen swiftly. "If you had stuff right now implemented to teach students about the nega- tive effects of it, because students just don't know," said Mazza. "They don't know anything about it." A major challenge to ed- ucation efforts is that cur- rently there isn't a strong consensus on the health ef- fects of vaping. Some ar-fects of vaping. Some ar-f gue that it reduces harm because it's an alternative to smoking - Health Cana- da has stated that vaping is less harmful than smok- ing. However, Health Cana- da also states that it is not harmless; it increases ex- posure to harmful chemi- cals, can act as a gateway to nicotine addiction, and as a fairly new product the long-term health conse- quences are presently un- known. In this environment of uncertainty, legislators and schools are working to respond. The Smoke-Free Onta- rio Act, 2017, which came into effect in October 2018, prohibits vaping on school property and within 20 me- tres of public areas outside of school property. Board officials say that they have been diligent in enforcing the rules and will continue to do so. Marvin Duarte, the Mil- ton trustee of the Halton District, said that numer- ous devices are regularly taken from students. "I'm told that the e-ciga- rettes being confiscated are not one and two, but garbage bags full. It's something to really think about with our strategy," said Duarte. Another problem with effective regulation is that vaping is both the problem and a solution - the devices have been used to help with smoking cessation. At the April 2 trustee meeting of the HCDSB, Jeff Crowell, superintendent of education, responded to an audience question about vaping, saying that they are working through mul- tiple avenues to find the best response. "We're trying to find that right balance between education and enforce- ment. Working with Hal- ton Health and Halton Re- gional Police, ensuring ad- ministrators are well- trained and our teachers can speak intelligently to the problems and health concerns around it. I can assure that our adminis- trators and teachers and all staff are vigilant in en- forcement," said Crowell. forcement," said Crowell. f The answer of what to do about youth vaping doesn't strictly lie with the schools. It is against the law to sell vape products to people who are younger than 19; there are also re- strictions now on how the products can be displayed In response to the legis- lation, advocacy groups have formed, which argue that regulation is unfair and a threat to vaping in the province. They say that it's a safer alternative to smoking and has helped many people live a healthi- er lifestyle. NEWS Continued from page 1 'RESPONSE TO VAPING NEEDED TO HAPPEN SWIFTLY' - STUDENT TRUSTEE THE ISSUE: GROWING POPULARITY OF VAPING AMONG YOUTH LOCAL IMPACT: HEALTH CONCERNS AND THE POORLY-UNDERSTOOD TREND STORY BEHIND THE STORY The growing popularity of vaping in high schools caught our reporter's attention during a recent conversation with a local teenager. While attending a trustee meeting, we found out what local administrators are doing about the issue.