Montgomery County seeks to curb student vaping with $2 million for vape detectors
ROCKVILLE, Md. - The Montgomery County Council approved a plan to allocate $2 million for the installation of vape detectors in high schools across the county, aiming to crack down on student vaping.
The funding for these detectors comes from a settlement Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) received after suing e-cigarette manufacturer JUUL Labs over the rise in teen vaping. In the past two years, MCPS reported 424 incidents related to drugs or controlled substances, including vaping.
The specific type of vape detector has not yet been finalized, but the devices are intended to alert school officials if vaping occurs in bathrooms, potentially deterring students from engaging in the activity.
The vote to approve the funding was unanimous among council leaders Tuesday.
"The fact reminds that we have a vaping crisis in our schools. You can go into bathrooms and see cartridges in the trash cans," Council president Andrew Friedson said. "We know this a challenge. We have documentation and court rulings that have demonstrated vaping companies have at times targeted children in their marketing. We need to do what is necessary to address that."
Scott Webber, founder of the Vaping Awareness Public Education Society, was the only speaker at a public hearing Tuesday.
"To spend $2 million dollars on a study that I don’t think any one of the council members have even seen is fiscal folly. The idea to use technology to detect vapers and actually do anything about it is nonsense. There’s no way a school would be able to implement a system," Webber said. "Vaping is an addiction just as marijuana, alcohol, other things. The idea that you can stop vaping by putting in a detection device in the bathroom is not only fiscally irresponsible, but it doesn’t get to the root of the problem."
Parents FOX 5 spoke with said they know vaping is an issue in schools but some question how effective detectors would be.
"There are so many other problems to deal with, so is it worth the money? I don’t know," one parent said.
Others said they feel there are issues with security that should be addressed first.
"Schools have a tough time keeping kids just behaving. That’s the biggest problem. My daughter is a [2nd grade] teacher," one parent said. "There’s kids going around her school threatening the principal, the teachers.
Teachers have no authority to even tell the parents what to do and these kids are just running amuck, so I’d say security is the number one. Vaping is on the way back burner for me."
Another parent no longer has kids in high school but said he’s aware of the vaping issues.
"I mean, I’m much more concerned about someone bringing in a AK-47 and shooting up the place, but the vaping is not good and it’s unfortunate that kids think it’s an okay thing to do, because it’s not," he said.
FOX 5 brought these perspectives to Councilman Friedson.
"If we have an epidemic of guns in schools, too…one does not replace the other. I don’t think this is a competition of what is a greater challenge in the school. The question is what is being done in the challenges we face? I think it’s important to recognize there’s a suggestion we withhold funds, restricted only for the purpose of what’s been authorized now and withhold them so nothing can be done," he said.
Last year, MCPS piloted several types of vape detectors in six high schools: Richard Montgomery, Kennedy, Northwood, Paint Branch, Quince Orchard, and Walt Whitman. The pilot program revealed challenges, including false alarms triggered by perfumes and the need for increased staffing to maximize detector effectiveness.
MCPS released the following statement to FOX 5 Tuesday:
"We appreciate the County Council’s decision to approve supplemental appropriation for vape detention and prevention program in our high schools. We look forward to beginning the process of selecting a vendor to implement the program."