Vaping in the bathrooms at Redwood High School has become a problem that none of us can ignore, whether that be the circles of our fellow students passing around a vape pen or the constant smell of vapor from nicotine or weed oil. This has become an annoyance in the school bathroom and has no end in sight, as little meaningful action has been taken by either the faculty or our peers in student council. Vaping in the schools’ lavatories has to stop and must be put to a swift end by either the administration or student government because the health risks and violations have gone on for too long and must end.
The health risk alone from secondhand vapor in a common, shared and closed space could lead to a variety of health risks to fellow students just trying to relieve themselves in a public bathroom. According to the Thoracic Society, second and third-hand smoke and vaping aerosols contain harmful, toxic and cancer-causing chemicals that can be breathed in or enter the body through the skin.
Now I am not trying to sit on a high horse and look down on people who partake in smoking or use other illegal substances. I believe that it’s your right to partake in any activity you choose to and it’s your body so therefore it’s your choice. Yet when innocent bystanders are exposed to possible health risks that they did not consent to, then it becomes a major problem. Your right to partake in substances stops when others are affected by it. Not only is there a large health risk to children by using substances in a closed environment like a public bathroom, it’s also highly illegal to smoke in California public bathrooms. The Marin County Smoke-Free Air and Health Protection Ordinance has guidelines for smoking in public areas.
“No person shall smoke or knowingly permit smoking in an area of the premises under his or her legal or de facto control in which smoking is prohibited by an owner or administrator,” the Ordinance said.
This ordinance is targeted at restrooms because of the high safety risk posed by the fact that ventilation and open-air access is suppressed in bathrooms. This is because most bathrooms have no windows and a closed environment with a lack of air flow. When released, the vapor can be trapped in the bathroom due to the small square footing of the bathroom and lack of windows. This stains the walls, allowing for an excess amount of vapor to linger in the restroom and be inhaled by students walking in. This danger is supported by the California Air Resources Board, which found that secondhand smoke exposure can fill an environment with toxic chemicals that can heavily affect people with diseases such as asthma, respiratory issues or heart diseases.
The opposition may state that due to vape being electronic, eliminating the danger of inhaling ash as one would with a cigarette, it’s somehow safer. This idea is simply untrue and can be seen in the materials inside the vape itself. According to the Surgeon General, a standard vape can contain many harmful particles, such as nickel, tin and lead. Although it’s a person’s choice to inhale these compounds, it is non-consensual for the surrounding public to inhale the excess smoke. These chemical compounds are proven to be deadly from the highest forms of medical associations as shown by the surgeon general, and yet people continue to vape in the washrooms, exposing others to these chemicals in an enclosed environment. Even though vaping is electronic, it can still harm others and lead to large amounts of poisonous chemicals occupying the lungs of others. Vaping in the bathroom presents a large issue, with 37 percent of surveyed participants agreeing that the Redwood bathrooms are burdened by smoking in the bathroom.
It’s clear that the smoking epidemic in the bathroom is violating students’ basic rights to use the restrooms and have a peaceful experience, but the school administration’s inaction towards this major problem is clear. There is a demand from students for their peers in government to step in. In fact, 39 percent of participants surveyed agreed that some type of action needs to be taken by the student government to stop the vaping in the bathroom.
In the absence of any solution from the student government or administration. I propose a solution to put the problem to bed once and for all. The Zeptive wireless vape detector had helped other schools such as ours in similar situations. One example is Melrose High School, where Zeptive was able to alert faculty of smoking in the bathroom. This led to a relocation of smoking out of the school bathrooms, and allowed for the return to a pleasant bathroom experience. With basic vape detectors, I believe there will be a natural migration of smokers out of the bathroom and a return to the normal environment. It is up to all of us to demand change from our peers and end the smoking epidemic in the bathroom to restore a healthy and safe bathroom atmosphere.