NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED TIMOTHY SHOEMAKER PRESENTS BRENHAM PARENTS WITH VAPING INFO

  

Concerned parents in the Brenham community heard Wednesday night from a nationally recognized speaker about the dangers and unknowns of vaping.

A crowd of about 35 people met at the Nancy Carol Roberts Memorial Library to hear from Timothy Shoemaker, a certified instructor in the Division of Criminal Justice, a nationally credentialed prevention facilitator, and the former New Jersey and United States D.A.R.E. Officer of the Year.

Shoemaker, who also presented earlier Wednesday to Brenham ISD students, spoke with parents about the health risks associated with vaping, the methods the tobacco industry uses to market its products to children, and even ways he has seen students conceal vaping products on their person.

Shoemaker said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have labeled what he called the “historic trend” of vaping an outbreak and an epidemic.

 

Shoemaker also went over common substances found in vapes and e-cigarettes, such as nicotine, propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, and diacetyl. He said there’s “no chance” vaping is good for someone, and it is merely a matter of how bad it is.  He said that will unfortunately take decades and millions of lives to find out.

Shoemaker also talked about ways students have worked to hide their vaping products, sometimes in plain sight. Shoemaker said common pieces of apparel, like caps, hoodies, and shoes, can come with special compartments to store vapes and vape cartridges.  Even items like water bottles, energy drink cans, cans of body spray, and fake sandwiches have been used to hide vaping equipment.

According to numbers obtained from Brenham Police Public Information Officer Alyson Tofel, since January of 2019 there have been six cases involving vaping using liquid THC on the Brenham High School campus, and 43 cases involving e-cigarettes with tobacco for both the junior high and the high school.

Brenham ISD Superintendent Dr. Walter Jackson said the issue of vaping does exist at Brenham ISD, but it also exists across the nation. He challenged parents in attendance to educate others and start a conversation with their newfound knowledge on vaping.