Emma Hovey and her friends at Nackawic Senior High School saw a trend among their fellow students during the 2022-2023 school year that concerned them: vaping.
But instead of staying silent on the topic, they decided to spearhead an educational campaign to inform their fellow students about the dangers of tobacco and vaping. Utilizing resources provided by Physical and Health Education Canada (PHE Canada)’s STOMP—Students TOgether Moving to Prevent Tobacco Use—program, Hovey and her friends Georgia Eastwood, Aselin Calder, and Hailey Nason worked with school leadership to try to change hearts and habits on the subject.
“I got involved in the anti-vaping initiative as I noticed vaping was a huge issue in the school, mainly in my generation,” said Hovey, a Grade 12 student. “I hope to reduce the amount of vaping or at least make people more aware so they can manage it.”
The friends, calling their organization the STOMP Student Council, began their awareness efforts with a multi-pronged approach designed to reach their fellow students. The group created and hung “no-vape” signs around the school—with an emphasis on washrooms—and they created a question-and-answer game on vaping that is delivered at assemblies.
The group also produced anti-vaping TikTok videos and created an anti-vaping Instagram account.
“Instagram is definitely that quick hit for [students] to see a little PSA or something about it,” said Nackawic Senior High School Vice-Principal Ross Calder.
Calder, who is STOMP Student Council member Aselin Calder’s father, and teacher Andrea Cronkhite have been the group’s faculty advisors since its inception in 2022. They’ve been sharing the group’s message on morning announcements and helping them apply for grant money.
“We [administrators] noticed the amount of students who were vaping, so when we saw the opportunity to get involved with PHE Canada, we thought this could be a silver lining for us,” Calder said.
He and Cronkhite worked with the group to secure seed money from PHE Canada to purchase two HALO-brand vape detectors for school washrooms. The school district provided matching funds to purchase seven additional detectors, for a total of nine in the school.
As stated in the product title, the devices detect vaping, but also sense a number of other concerning substances and activities in a school setting like THC, aggressive activity, and smoking.
“The second that it’s detected in the bathroom, it sends us an email,” he said. “It can distinguish between vaping and marijuana. It can also detect loud noises and vibrations, which can indicate a fight.”
Guilt by association
An online STOMP survey of students found many were most concerned about vaping activity in washrooms.
Said Calder: “Non-vaping kids were not wanting to go to the bathroom at break time because they were worried that they were going to get included with the kids that were in there vaping. If a teacher came in, they’d be guilty by association.”
Bus drivers also voiced concerns to faculty about students vaping on buses, Calder said.
“Young people often start vaping because their friends do it or because it is a form of coping with hard things in their lives,” said Grade 12 student Aselin Calder. “I think our efforts have been effective as there has been less vaping in the washrooms in our school. We brought more awareness to the dangers of vaping within our school through posters, announcements and our Instagram account.”
According to Ross Calder, the group’s success has brought inquiries from several schools in the Anglophone School District South looking to start their own STOMP programs.
Hovey agrees the initiative has been successful, but recognizes some challenges brought on by this success.
“I feel that the stuff STOMP has done in the school has made some impact, but it has also caused some new issues to arise,” she said. “An example of this is the vape detectors; they have reduced vaping in the bathrooms but have caused some issues with vaping in the classroom.”
So, the work continues.
