Jan 12, 2018 By Harry Funk staff Writer hfunk@thealmanac.Net 5 min read

A seemingly innocuous-looking item that was confiscated at Upper St. Clair High School gave Jason Remmy an idea.

“I walked around and showed probably about 25 teachers this exact one,” the school police officer said as he displayed the item during the Jan. 10 meeting of the Youth Steering Committee of Upper St. Clair.

His question for the teachers: Do you know what it is?

“Some people said, ‘a flash drive,'” Remmy recalled. “I probably would have said the same thing. I’d never seen anything like this until the end of last year. I would have given this back to you and said, ‘Here’s your flash drive or whatever.'”

The device in question, sold by San Francisco-based JUUL Inc., does hook up to a computer’s USB port to charge. Then it resumes its purpose as an electronic nicotine delivery system, or e-cigarette.

“Out of about 25 teachers, only two guessed what it was. Everybody else had no idea,” Remmy said. “Why would they know, if they’re not into that?”

He joined Michael Banaczak, also a school resource officer, and Tara Phillips, student assistance lead trainer for Gateway Rehab, in providing detailed information about a growing concern for educators and law enforcement officials.

“Every single school district that I know of is having issues with e-cigs and vapes,” Phillips said. “They’re small. They’re easy to conceal. Some of them don’t show any puff of smoke or any vapor coming off, so it’s not like if you’re sitting in the classroom, you’re going to see this cloud come out anymore.”

Upper St. Clair School District policy prohibits the use or possession of “electronic cigarettes, vaporizers, vaporizer accessories and/or liquid” in its regulations addressing alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs.

“They’re not just using it to vape the nicotine,” Phillips explained. “They’re putting other drugs in it.”

Although the Upper St. Clair officers said they have not yet encountered such alternative substances, high school administrators continue to take the matter seriously. Banaczak extended particular credit to assistant principals Daniel Beck and Daniel Zelenski for their efforts.

JUUL Labs statement

San Francisco-based JUUL Labs Inc. contacted The Almanac to provide this statement:

“JUUL Labs’ mission is to eliminate cigarette smoking by offering existing adult smokers with a better alternative to combustible cigarettes. JUUL is not intended for anyone else. We strongly condemn the use of our product by minors, and it is in fact illegal to sell our product to minors. No minor should be in possession of a JUUL product.

“Our goal is to further reduce the number of minors who possess or use tobacco products, including vapor products, and to find ways to keep young people from ever trying these products. We approach this with a combination of education, enforcement, technology and partnership with others who are focused on this issue, including lawmakers, educators and our business partners.

“Nicotine is addictive. An individual who has not previously used nicotine products should not start, particularly youth. Recent science raises serious concerns about the adverse effect of nicotine on adolescent neurodevelopment.

“We encourage parents to talk with their children about the dangers of nicotine. As a company, we also continuously seek ways to contribute to this dialogue and knowledge base.”

For more information, visit www.juullabs.com/combating-underage-use.

“Any time a report is issued – either through a student, a teacher or through one of us – they thoroughly investigate the incident,” Banaczak said. “If that means we have to call multiple people down to Mr. Beck’s office of Mr. Zelenski’s office to interview these kids, that’s what the district has done. And it’s a good point, because it sends a message out to the kids that we’re not going to tolerate it.”

The issue isn’t limited to high school. Phillips presented findings that 8 percent of eighth-graders reported having used electronic nicotine delivery systems in the past year, numbers that grow to 16 percent of 10th-graders and 19 percent of 12th-graders.

Until action by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2016, e-cigarettes and associated products were available for sale to anyone, regardless of age. The threshold now is 18, and sellers must check for photo identification.

Whatever the means of acquisition, devices of a wide variety of styles keep turning up at schools.

“This one actually hooks up to your phone,” Remmy said as he displayed a technologically advanced model. “You inhale it. It will time how long you’re inhaling, and it will put a date for the last time and day you were vaping.

“The other thing you can do is, if your best friend and you are vaping and you pass it to her, you hit the button and it customizes itself to the way she likes it,” he continued. “This is what we’re finding within the past two years.”

The Youth Steering Committee of Upper St. Clair is a community action group, jointly appointed by township commissioners and the school board. The committee meets at 7 p.m. the second Wednesday of the month, September through June, at the Upper St. Clair Community and Recreation Center. Meetings are open to all residents.