Vaping detectors will be installed in school bathrooms tomorrow. An increasing number of vaping incidents have motivated high school and middle school faculty to add these detectors to all school bathrooms.

“Vapes,” electronic smoking devices, have recently been linked to a handful of deaths nationally. New findings suggest that they are causing serious health issues. 

High school Vice Principal Tina Bacolas shared statistics on vaping-related incidents in American schools that convinced the school district to install the new devices. 

According to the Center for Disease Control, she said, there have been “around 450 mysterious illnesses in 33 states associated with vaping. Kids are actually starting to die.”

Bathrooms are the only places in the school to not have cameras, so these detectors will help to address a blind spot. 

The detectors will be able to detect common chemicals found in vape products and a variety of other drugs, including nicotine and THC. 

They will also be able to sense loud noises in the bathrooms, which can come from student rowdiness or a fight. 

Glen Rock is not the only school district to be implementing vaping detectors, nearby Ramapo-Indian Hills will soon do the same. 

These detectors were first suggested during School Climate and Safety Team meetings, a group composed of Bacolas, Principal John Arlotta, the Glen Rock Police Department, and other stakeholders.