Highlands administrators will get an edge in their battle against the popular — but unhealthy and illegal — teen habit of vaping.

Detectors will be installed in restrooms at the middle and high schools in the coming weeks to notify officials when students are puffing inside the stalls.

“Vaping is an issue at Highlands, one we have been trying to address for a long time,” Superintendent Monique Mawhinney said. “We are trying to solve the problem and get ahead of it by installing them at the middle school.”

It is illegal for retailers to sell tobacco products to anyone younger than 21 in Pennsylvania.

The detectors work similarly to household smoke detectors without the loud wailing sound.

If students are vaping, security and other staff will be alerted by text or other messages on their phones.

Brian King, director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products, said e-cigarette use poses a serious health risk to adolescents.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nicotine is highly addictive and can harm still-developing brains.

A study released by the CDC and the FDA revealed that 2.55 million U.S. middle and high school students vaped in 2022, including 14.1% of high school students and 3.3% of middle schoolers.

“This study shows that our nation’s youth continue to be enticed and hooked by an expanding variety of e-cigarette brands delivering flavored nicotine,” said Deirdre Lawrence Kittner, director of the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. “It’s critical that we work together to prevent youth from starting to use any tobacco product — including e-cigarettes — and help all youth who do use them, to quit.”

Among youngsters who vaped, nearly 85% used flavored cartridges, according to the report.

At Highlands, students caught vaping on school grounds receive the same consequence as using other nicotine products or marijuana.

According to the district handbook, students caught with nicotine may be required to complete a cessation program.

“We can test the chemical in the vape to determine if it is marijuana, resulting in an expulsion per district policy and the student handbook,” Mawhinney said.

At the same time, the district will implement a new SmartPass system, an app to track the frequency of students using a hall pass.

It manages the number of students out of the classroom for any reason, including visiting the nurse’s office or other building destinations.

Mawhinney said teachers and staff will be able to see the exact number of students using a specific bathroom, and if it is at the max number, a student will have to wait to use the pass.

Students will be able to access the app on their technology device.

Mawhinney said there are multiple benefits to the new automated system.

It will limit the number of students in the hallways and restrooms, decrease the time administrators have to investigate issues in the bathroom or hallways and quickly identify the location of students in case of an emergency.

“They will use their devices to sign out so they can be monitored,” she said.

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