SHIP director Kaley Hernandez, above, speaks about the history of vaping and all of its health concerns last Monday night at BEA.

In an attempt to provide information about vaping and drug usage in the area, the Blue Earth Area High School held an “Escape the Vape Part II” program at the school on Monday, Jan. 30.

It was presented to students during the school day, and there was an open to the public session Monday night.

“We had some good response from the students to the program, with many of them asking questions and being involved,” BEA High School principal Conan Shaffer said. “We think it went over well.”

Unfortunately, the turn- out of parents and other community members at the Monday evening session was very low. School administration members said they felt the extremely cold weather probably kept many people at home.

There were several speakers at the evening session who spoke on a variety of topics, from vaping to drugs to mental health.

Kaley Hernandez, of the area public health service, is the local coordinator of the Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP) group, and spoke first.

She focused on all aspects of vaping, from the amount of use, to the evolution of vaping devices, to the health concerns of using them.

“Use of other tobacco products has been on the decline among Minnesota students,” Hernandez says, “while vaping is on the increase. From 2016 to 2019 there has been a 95 percent increase in usage among eighth graders, 75 percent increase in ninth graders and 54 percent increase for 11th graders.”

She also described how we are on the fifth generation of vaping devices. It has evolved from the cigarette style at the beginning, to devices now that do not really appear to be a vape.

“The amount of ‘puffs’ on the vape has increased as well,” Hernandez explains. “It has gone up significantly from 1,200 puffs per pod to 2,500, 3,500, 5,000 and even 6,000 puffs on items such as the Elfbar disposable.”

What is in the vapor is also a large concern, Hernandez added. It is not just a safe water vapor.

“There is nicotine in almost every single vape,” she reports. “But there also can be other chemicals such as formaldehyde, propylene glycol, acetone, ethylbenzene and rubidium.”

Those chemicals are used in things such as windshield washer fluid, finger nail polish remover, insect spray and fireworks – as well as for embalming bodies.

“The vape devices come in colorful, attractive colors and shapes,” she says. “The Elfbar comes in over 50 flavors, like tropical rainbow blast, Fiji ice, Rainbow cloudz, strawberry cream.”

Some are purposely disguised as something else, which helps teens hide their use. One is shaped just like a medical asthma inhaler, Hernandez showed. Another is hidden in a hoodie sweatshirt.

“The tobacco companies are definitely marketing to our youth,” she said. “They spend $9.5 billion on ads aimed at youth.”

She said that parents and other concerned adults can get more information at The VapeTalk.org. Anyone 18 or older who wants help to quit any tobacco product can go to QuitPartnerMN.com, and any student ages 13-17 who wants to quit smoking or vaping, can go to MyLifeMyQuit.org.

Faribault County Sheriff’s deputy, and BEA School Resource Officer, Barry Meyers, spoke about area and local drug use.

Meyers has spent years serving on the Drug Task Force which serves several area counties.

He started his talk with information about marijuana, and how it is still very prevalent, and is becoming more legal in the state.

“There are different types of marijuana which vary in strength,” he explained. “There are now different products as well, from marijuana wax to edibles.”

Methamphetamine use is still a big problem locally, and has been for 15 years or more, Meyers says. The difference is that there no longer is an issue with meth labs in the county, as the meth is shipped to the area now, including by the post service.

“All drugs are here, in our county or at least in the local area,” Meyers said. “Cocaine is back, after not being around much for two years. Heroin can also be found here.”

But fentanyl is the drug that is causing the most concern, as it becomes common among youth and young adults.

“It is being added to other drugs,” Meyers said. “Even to marijuana. Kids don’t know what they are taking, or whether it has fentanyl in it or not.”

Meyers showed a photo of a penny and a tiny bit of white powder fentanyl next to it, saying even that amount can be fatal.

And, if that is not bad enough, there is carfentanyl out there which is way more powerful than fentanyl, Meyers said.

“Narcan (used to save someone overdosing on opiods) doesn’t work on it,” he explained. “Carfentanyl, known as grey death, resists it.”

Prescription drugs are also an issue, mainly due to kids being able to get them easily from nearly every medicine cabinet, Meyers added.

“People are also buying pill presses and making their own pills and selling them,” Meyers added. “But the buyer never knows exactly what they are getting.”

The final two speakers were Dr. Aaron Johnson and Physicians Assistant Mandy Carr, both from UHD.

They spoke about drug use and its effect on mental health.

“Kids take drugs and have no idea what they are taking,” Dr. Johnson said. “The drugs can create psychosis, anxiety, paranoia and other issues.”

Johnson pointed out that the number one cause of death in rural Minnesota youth is accidents, but number two is suicide. Thoughts of suicide can be caused by drug use.

Carr said that vaping use by younger kids is a growing concern.

“I will ask them if they smoke or drink and they say no,” she said. “I then ask about vaping, and they say, well, yes, they do that. They don’t realize they are smoking and getting nicotine when they vape.”

These are devious people who sell vaping devices and drugs to kids, Dr. Johnson said. They make them look like candy, or like toys.

The coronavirus pandemic had some effect on drug use, the experts said. On one hand, kids did not spend as much time with friends who might influence bad behavior. On the other hand, many students had a feeling of being isolated, which affected their mental health.

A question at the end of the program had to do with alcohol use among students. School officials said it seems to have gone down somewhat, maybe due to the COVID pandemic, but that it is still an issue.

It takes a group effort, from school personnel, to parents, to the whole community, to deal with these issues, the speakers concluded.