Fort Cherry hosts community conversation about vaping and drug use
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
The Washington County Sheriff’s Department displayed a variety of e-cigarettes and vape products that are popular among teens during a community conversations parent information event held at Fort Cherry Junior/Senior High School on Wednesday.
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Deputy Elizabeth Davidson from the Washington County Sheriff’s Department uses a mock teen bedroom to educate parents about vapes and other substances children might hide “in plain sight” in their bedrooms during Community Conversation Parent Information Event Series at Fort Cherry Junior/Senior High School.
Deputy Elizabeth Davidson from the Washington County Sheriff's Department uses a mock teen bedroom to educate parents about vapes and other substances children might hide "in plain sight" in their bedrooms during Community Conversation Parent Information Event Series at Fort Cherry Junior/Senior High School.
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Deputy Elizabeth Davidson of the Washington County Sheriff’s Department was one of the speakers at a program on vaping and drug use among adolescents, part of a community conversation series held at Fort Cherry Junior/Senior High School.
Ramona Cholak Jenks, prevention specialist at Washington County Drug and Alcohol Commission, talked about vaping use among teens at the Community Conversations Parent Information Event Series on Wednesday at Fort Cherry Junior/Senior High School.
Fort Cherry School District on Wednesday hosted a parent and community education program that addressed vaping and drug use in adolescents, as part of its Community Conversations Parent Information Event Series.
The free event, the first in a two-part series, focused on the current trends related to vaping, alcohol, marijuana, inhalants, and other substances by teenagers, along with health risks and signs that teens are using those substances.
Washington County Drug & Alcohol, Cornerstone Care, and the Washington County Sheriff’s Department participated, and provided a variety of local and state resources for parents seeking information about vaping, addiction, prevention, treatment and support.
Additionally, the Washington County Sheriff’s Department set up a mock teen bedroom containing fake drugs and alcohol to help parents spot items “hidden in plain sight” in their children’s bedrooms that can alert them to signs of substance abuse in their home.
The bedroom display is part of the sheriff’s department’s “Hidden In Plain Sight” program.
“We want you to be educated to know what things look like,” said Deputy Elizabeth Davidson, DARE instructor. “When you’re in your child’s bedroom, you might be thinking, ‘I don’t know what that is, what is this?’ I don’t know how many parents I’ve had come up to me, how many death delivery notices I had to give for children who have overdosed, and (the parents) searched their children’s bedroom and they go, ‘Oh, my God, it was there the whole time.'”
Ramona Cholak Jenks, prevention specialist at Washington County Drug and Alcohol Commission, said tobacco companies have designed easy-to-conceal vaping devices with appealing flavors that adolescents can easily get their hands on.
She noted a new generation of vapes hidden in bracelets, pens, and the strings of hoodies, and a vape watch that is designed to look like an Apple Watch.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises that the use of e-cigarettes is unsafe for kids, teens, and young adults; according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in 2020, 1 in 5 high schoolers used e-cigarettes.
Jenks encouraged parents to talk with their children about the dangers of vaping.
“The No. 1 reason kids don’t use is parental disapproval,” said Jenks. “Talk to them.”
Courtney Downey, a social worker for Cornerstone Care, discussed how addiction occurs and the effects vaping has on teens’ brains, lungs, health, and physical appearance.
Davidson said it’s important for parents to start the conversation with their children.
“It’s making sure that your children know that as parents, you don’t approve of it, the community doesn’t approve of it, and having these conversations sooner rather than later,” said Davidson. “Drugs are here, in our communities. We have to work together and do everything we can to prevent it.”
The second part of the series, which focuses on mental health and substance use in teens, will be held Feb. 9 in the auditorium of Fort Cherry Junior/Senior High School.
It is open to anyone in the Washington County community.