'It's everywhere': Vaping in high school bathrooms is widespread, say Windsor students

High school students in Windsor, Ont., say not enough is being done to stop vaping on school property, given how often they see it.

"They keep it under their sleeve," said Layla Ayoub Ghanem, a student at Honourable W. C. Kennedy Collegiate Institute. "They try to inhale it so they don't get the smoke out."

Another student from the same school sees students vaping quite often and elsewhere in the school.

"[I see it] probably around three times a day," said Antonio Shamo. "In the bathrooms, outside, wherever; mostly on lunch."

Ghanem said some students don't even try to hide it.

"People have been vaping straight up in the hallways these days," she said.

Students aren't just vaping in public schools.

"Every time I go into the bathroom and I have to do my business, it's [like there's] a whole party in there," said Chris Cameron, a student at Holy Names Catholic High School.

"It's everywhere."

The comments come as health advocates say Health Canada is "missing in action" when it comes to regulating vaping flavours as youth vaping rates rise.

Data from the 2021 Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey indicates Canadians aged 15 to 19 used flavoured vaping products at a higher rate than older age groups.

According to the latest Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey, which was released in 2021, there was a drop in students from Grades 9-12 who admitted to vaping, from 23 per cent in 2019 to 15 per cent in 2021.

In an emailed statement to CBC News, Stephen Fields, communications co-ordinator for the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board, acknowledged vaping is a "serious issue among young people, and we do deal with it in our schools."

Fields said the board has a drug awareness strategy that includes resources for parents on vaping. The resources on the strategy page link to the federal government's tip sheet for parents about talking with teens about vaping. He also said schools "periodically call in the tobacco enforcement experts of the local health unit if they believe it's a problem in their building."

Both the public and Catholic school boards in Windsor-Essex said vaping on school property is banned and students could be suspended. Neither board was able to provide data on students suspended for vaping.

Ghanem said suspensions are not an adequate deterrent for students caught vaping on school property, saying it hasn't changed anything.

"When they come back to school, they still have that vape in their pocket. People get suspended and get happy: 'Oh my God, I get to spend the week at home.'" 

Trying to stop vaping at schools

In a statement, Ministry of Health spokesperson Hannah Jensen told CBC News that as part of the province's ban of vaping products for residents under 19, they also increased access to Telehealth Ontario to help people wanting to quit.

"Our government will continue to monitor the data and take action to protect the health and safety of all Ontarians," her statement said.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce said in a statement to CBC News that students and parents have been "advocating for tougher action" in talks with him.

"That's why we've invested $2 million to combat vaping and cannabis use in schools and will always ensure our schools are safe places for students to learn."

But people on the ground say not enough is being done to fight it.

Ghanem suggested the public board encourage schools to start talking with students through small gestures like announcements and assemblies warning them about the dangers of vaping.

"I think that would make such a big change," Ghanem said.

Taking matters into their own hands, students and staff at Kennedy Collegiate organized an anti-vaping campaign where they asked students to create art pieces about the negative effects of vaping on the lungs.

Ghanem, one of the student organizers of the campaign, also ran for a student trustee position on the public board's board to ensure people are aware of vaping dangers. And she wasn't the only one.

"I met so many great students who were advocating for this concern about students vaping," said Ghanem. "When I mentioned that, I got so many questions about it."

A former user of vaping products said he couldn't walk into a vape shop, where sales are restricted to residents over 19. He said although he had to rely on straw purchases, he felt it was "way too easy" to get vape products.

"You could text people that are older. They could come drive to you and give it to you for more money," said Jackson Morand, a student at Holy Names Catholic High School.

Morand said while he had never entered a vape shop to make a purchase, he knows people who have fake IDs and used it to claim they were of age.

Side-effects of vaping

Gordon Thane, manager of chronic disease and injury prevention at the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, said there is still a lack of information on the long-term effects of vaping products. He has a theory as to why people would use these instead of regular cigarettes.

"Cigarettes have stringent label requirements and health warnings on those products," said Thane. "E-cigarettes are much different. They look appealing, they have flavours and there's sort of a social contagion going on, especially with the youth of modelling behaviour, and that perpetuates the use of e-cigarettes and a lack of understanding that there could be some long-term health effects as well."

Thane said vaping products can cause lung disease or cancer, but the heavy metals in the products could also cause environmental damage.

"[They can] pollute our waters and cause death to our wildlife."