Electronic cigarettes are a real problem, so much so that schools in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean have decided to tighten the screws and students caught vaping at school could be fined.
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Vaping at school can leave an aftertaste. Those who break the rules could be forced to pay $311 if they are minors and $367 if they are adults.
“These are hefty penalties, these are things that the Tobacco Act provides for,” said Christine Flaherty, director general of the Lac-Saint-Jean School Service Centre.
In the school service center of Rives-du-Saguenay and Lac-Saint-Jean, one person per school monitors compliance with the regulations.
“It is certain that (filing criminal charges) is not the first tool favored by schools. We raise awareness, we have addiction prevention officers who intervene, we put up posters everywhere. But at some point in a situation it may be necessary for the school to make a report. About one or two statements have been issued in each of our schools in recent years,” continued Ms. Flaherty.
For several months, offenders could not be ticketed at the Wilbrod Dufour Pavilion in Alma.
“The license is issued for a certain number of years, with an associated training. In our schools, some of our security guards had expired permits and were renewed. For example, at PDW, this agent left and it took a while for a new agent to complete the training,” said Christine Flaherty.
In both the province and region, schools are seeing an upsurge in vaping among youth.
Vapes are accessible, sometimes cheap, and their sweet taste attracts a lot of young people. A phenomenon that worries several people interviewed by TVA Nouvelles.
“There are some who are barely as tall as my children… that’s worrying,” says a woman who attends the neighboring vocational training center.
And still too often, the rules for using vapers are not followed. Many students admit that they have not always respected the rules and that many young people take refuge in school toilets to use their electronic cigarettes. That’s why several schools are considering tightening the screw.
“It will be a matter of judgment and a matter of reality in each of the operations. How will schools fare? If they release more insights, you’ll see. Depending on the reality around them, they will certainly increase awareness and intervention for drug addicts,” said the DG of the Center de services scolaire du Lac-Saint-Jean.
Other schools could follow suit. The De La Jonquière School Services Center (CSSDLJ) facilities have codes of conduct with clear regulations regarding the possession and consumption of products related to smoking and vaping in schools.
Due to the increasing popularity of these substances, the CSSDLJ set up an advisory committee to analyze the various options that could soon be used in their communities.