LIBERTY — Liberty Local School District is one of more than 1,000 schools across the nation receiving settlement funds in lawsuits against e-cigarette producers JUUL Labs Inc. and Altria Group Inc. to crack down on the marketing of flavored tobacco and nicotine products to minors.

During a board of education meeting Sept. 28, all members passed a resolution to approve and accept settlements of $23,163 from JUUL; and the amount from Altria, the school said, is around $6,000, both over four years.

Since launching the class-action suit in 2021, the schools’ legal counsel in the case, Frantz Law Group, of San Diego, is helping schools receive a string of settlement payments from the companies. Liberty’s first payment should come this fall.

“Every district is plagued by smoking, vaping and more,” Liberty Superintendent Andrew Tommelleo said. “It’s an ongoing challenge to detect and eliminate it. We have always faced smoking, and then it eventually morphed into vaping. Kids know where adults are and where they’re not, so we have to stay as vigilant as we can.”

Frantz’s website claims that JUUL, like other vape companies, minimized the danger of their products to keep underage buyers hooked.

The site states, “From the beginning, JUUL has been trying to target youths with their advertisements.” The statement continues, “Early campaigns from the company show likely teens using the USB drive-shaped vape device and appearing ‘cool’ because of it, harkening back to the Joe Camel days of cigarettes.”

TAKING ACTION

In order to combat the rise of vaping in school, Newton Falls, Bristol and Mathews school districts plan to install vape smoke-detecting equipment in their schools.

“As a high school, we wanted to continue our efforts in creating a safe space and appropriate educational environment for our students,” Bristol High School Principal Dan Collins said. “We are installing vape detectors this fall to continue those efforts and make sure we are doing everything we can as a school district to help support our students in their academic endeavors. We look forward to making sure we are keeping our students safe from vaping and the distribution of vapes at the school. We will also present appropriate information to our students about the health risks of vaping.”

Mathews Superintendent Russell McQuaide said that around 2011 the district began discussing the installation of vape detectors because it recognized it as a problem. High school Principal George Garrett, who McQuaide said is well-versed in the technology field, did research to turn troubled students away from their vaping addictions.

“A lot of suspensions were linked to vaping,” McQuaide said. “So we needed a deterrent to keep the kids in school. Our goal isn’t to punish the kids who get caught but to prevent the problem from arising. We recognized the trend in our discipline statistics and wanted to be more proactive in management.”

April Caraway, executive director of the Trumbull County Mental Health and Recovery Board, suggested that vaping in schools is a rising epidemic in need of monitoring.

“When we do our surveys in the schools, we find that vaping has exploded,” Caraway said. “Like with any drug, the earlier they use, the more likely they are to become addicted. There’s a lot of nicotine in these cartridges, so they are very addictive. There’s more nicotine in cartridges than three cigarettes.”

ADDING FLAVORS

According to the United States Food and Drug Administration, two primary ingredients found in e-cigarettes — propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin — are toxic to cells, and the more ingredients in an e-liquid, the greater the toxicity.

The dangerous chemicals potentially produced by e-cigarettes, the FDA said, like diacetyl, acrolein and formaldehyde, are toxins that can cause lung disease and heart disease. One of the ingredients in many e-cigarettes, acrolein, is a herbicide primarily used to kill weeds. Acrolein can cause acute lung injury, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma and lung cancer. The FDA said it has not found any e-cigarette to be “safe.” And more ingredients can mean more flavors.

Plaintiffs say the company tries to attract new young buyers by producing “juice pod” flavors that appeal to children and teens, such as cherry, cool mint, fruit medley and mango.

Ohio Youth Surveys reported in 2021 that 17.1% of high school students said they had tried cigarettes, and 35.1% of students said they had used an electronic vapor product. Also, 61.2% of Ohio students said they tried electronic tobacco products first.

In 2022, the Food and Drug Administration found that 1 in 10, or more than 2.5 million high schoolers in the U.S., were using e-cigarettes. The 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey also showed that 85% of those students used flavored e-cigarettes.

The most commonly used brands were Puff Bar (14.5%), Vuse (12.5%), Hyde (5.5%) and SMOK (4%).

McQuaide doubled down on the FDA’s scientific studies when he said last week, “With cigarettes, it kind of starts off as just tobacco flavors, and maybe some menthol. But with these vape companies, they’re using many flavors like bubble gum or a bunch of different candies, to get these kids hooked.”

He added that, in his mind, the addictive qualities that have been added to vaping, like the flavors, have made the epidemic worse than cigarettes.

CALLING FOR CHANGE

Attorney William Shinoff, who is leading the cases against JUUL and related companies, said he is trying to hold the companies responsible for the problems they’ve caused in schools around the country.

“We’re bringing money to districts to not have to use taxpayer dollars to end problems these companies created,” Shinoff said. “The nonmonetary part was a success by changing these companies and seeing them make less flavored vapes.”

The American Lung Association’s 2023 State of Tobacco Control report graded states in five areas that prevent and reduce tobacco use.

Ohio received the following grades: Funding for state tobacco prevention programs (F), strength of smokefree workplace laws (A), level of State tobacco taxes (F), Coverage and access to services to quit tobacco (C), ending the sale of all flavored tobacco products (F).

State Rep. Sara Carruthers, R-Hamilton, is the primary sponsor of House Bill 258, which would increase fines for selling tobacco products repeatedly to minors in Ohio. Fines of $250, $500, $1,000 and $1,500 are mentioned throughout the bill as affirmative defenses against multiple offenses.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine in July announced his support for a ban on flavored tobacco. “I agree with DeWine on some ideas,” Carruthers said.

“Obviously, flavors like tutti-fruitti and cotton candy appeal to a younger audience. But I disagree with menthol. In some ways you can keep that, but the sweeter ones you should get rid of,” she said.

Carruthers also said, as of now, she feels criminals aren’t being punished enough.

“It’s a slap on the wrist,” Carruthers said. “The more you raise penalties, maybe the less they will break the rules.”

As for the process of modifying HB 258, Carruthers explained that the flavor issues will have to be brought up during the House Criminal Justice Committee hearing.

The issue of teen vaping, in its entirety, however, Carruthers said does not seem to be a bipartisan argument.

“I don’t think there is a divide,” she said. “No one I know, on either side, wants kids vaping. For adults, it’s their personal business, but as far as children, no. Ruin your lungs later in life.”