East Brunswick Schools Victim Of Hoax Letter About Vaping

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — The East Brunswick school district found itself the victim of an anti-vaping hoax letter that spread through classrooms and on social media like wildfire yesterday.

The letter is a forgery, superintendent Dr. Victor Valeski said. But the problem of vaping and e-cigarette use in the East Brunswick school district is very real, he says. East Brunswick students are also putting THC oil into the pens and smoking them during class, he told Patch.

The letter started making the rounds yesterday morning (Monday), Dr. Valeski told Patch. It appears to be written on official school district letterhead and bears his signed electronic signature. It reads that "The school district was initially very alarmed by the influx of e-cigarette products amongst students ... Despite numerous warnings, the administration was unable to successfully stop the student body from using products such as Juul and other 'vapes' and 'dab' pens."

Powerless as to what to do, the bogus letter continues the district decided to launch the EB One (Hit) Initiative:

"Students will be allowed strictly one hit of all Juul and other e-cigarette products per visit of a bathroom stall. Students who do not comply with the EB One (Hit) Initiative and take more than one hit of their devices will face suspension. (This program does not apply to inhalers for asthma students.)"

Dr. Valeski said at least one copy of the letter was found in a bathroom at East Brunswick High School mid-morning on Monday. (East Brunswick schools were in session on Monday, Feb. 18 as a make-up day from a prior snowstorm.) By the end of the day, he had multiple teachers and staff coming up to him, asking if this was a joke. It also circulated rapidly on social media, he said, particularly in private chat groups. A reader even posted on Patch about it, asking if it was genuine.

"I sent a message out to the entire East Brunswick community on Monday night telling them this was a hoax," Dr. Valeski told Patch. "I admit I laughed at it. It's very convincing and on school letterhead. But this message is a forgery and we're investigating who wrote this."

Unfortunately, the problem of students vaping at East Brunswick High School has reached "epidemic" levels, Dr. Valeski said; this"joke" may be a reaction to efforts his administration has taken to curb the problem. One student at East Brunswick high wrote in this January TAP Into article that nearly half of the bathrooms in the high school were shut down recently because students were sneaking into them to smoke.

"There is a very high utilization of e-cigarettes by students," the superintendent said. "The problem is these devices often look like a USB drive, so students can quickly take one hit of them and then put it away. Teachers don't realize it until they start to see the student is under the influence."

To make matters worse, students are putting THC oil in the pens and getting high on marijuana derivatives in class, Dr. Valeski said.

The East Brunswick school district is consistently one of the top ranked school districts in the state. Many people move to this area specifically for its well-regarded schools.

Nationwide, cigarette smoking among teens has plummeted to all-time lows, according to the most recent CDC data. Meanwhile, use of e-cigarettes and vaping among teens has soared.

"The problem is the technology is moving very fast and we're trying to keep up," admitted Dr. Valeski. "We realize we have an epidemic."

Photos of the hoax letter posted on the East Brunswick Patch.