Cape Cod Regional Technical High School in Harwich
HARWICH – Cape Cod Regional Technical High School will host an evening dinner conversation Wednesday, June 12 on the dangers of vaping.
Parents and students in grades 7 through 11 are invited to attend the free event which will include presentations from Physician Assistant Gianna Jimenez, Dan Rodrigues, of Duffy Health Center, on the adverse effects of vaping products on youth health.
Cape Tech Principal Billy Terranova will also provide an overview on vaping and the new age of marijuana.
“We want to have as many parents and students from our district, not just from our school but from our district – from Mashpee to Provincetown, to come on in and have an honest conversation about the dangers of vaping and the dangers of the new marijuana,” said Robert Sanborn, the Cape Cod Tech Superintendent.
The event begins at 6 p.m. and presentations will follow a free barbeque dinner.
A panel discussion and Q & A will follow the presentations, along with a free ice cream sundae bar.
To RSVP for the event, visit the school’s website at www.capetech.us.
Sanborn said he has seen a major increase in students at the school using vaping and e-cigarette devices.
“Talking with my colleagues it is pretty universal,” Sanborn said.
Barnstable has become the first town on Cape Cod to restrict the sale of all flavored tobacco and nicotine products.
The Board of Health voted unanimously last month to limit the sale of flavored products to stores that require customers to be 21 or older, including specialty tobacco and vape shops.
The goal of the restriction is to prevent the products from reaching teenagers.
Cape Cod Healthcare Surgeon Jeff Spillane says youth usage of e-cigarette devices has become an epidemic and it is important to understand what is happening in middle schools and high schools.
“I have met 6th graders who are vaping,” Spillane said. “By my best estimate, 40 percent of our high school kids in Massachusetts have vaped within the last month.”
Vaping and e-cigarette devices are the newest way for tobacco and nicotine companies to target youth customers.
“I remember Joe Camel way back when and now it is fruit flavors and how safe it is,” Sanborn said. “We are going to start to disabuse that notion, especially for students and young people.”
Sanborn hopes to have a large crowd for the conversation.
“It’s going to be a community effort to try to diminish the usage,” Sanborn said.
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