HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHP) — As vaping devices become more popular among kids and teens, schools say they are seeing an increase in students using them.
“We have seen an increase at Steel-High and I think it is getting younger and younger. More with our middle schools and early high school ages at times. It’s not as prevalent as other areas, but we are seeing an increase,” said Steelton-Highspire Superintendent Michael Iskric.
School districts in Pennsylvania, among others in the U.S., are using vape detectors to combat the issue.
Most recently we have used some funds to purchase vape detectors, Halo Sensors, and we are doing that to be proactive and utilize a different avenue to be able to target vape use in our restrooms and various parts of the school building,” Iskric said.
Michael Stateler from KIT Communications said the detectors are actually environmental sensors that can detect vaping, THC, air quality issues, other chemicals, loud noises, occupancy levels and more. If there is an issue, they will alert administrators.
“They have various sensors that detect the different chemicals and the sounds,” Stateler said. They’re very, very small, little devices in the sensor that’s only about 6 inches big, some of them are even smaller, so they are very sensitive.”
Stateler said since the devices aren’t recording audio, there aren’t privacy concerns.
The Harrisburg School District is also moving forward with installing vape detectors. Other school districts said it’s something they are still discussing.
“The kids really need to know we have their safety in mind and we want the best for them,” Iskric said.