3 NJ School Students Hospitalized After Vaping, Officials Say

Three New Jersey students were hospitalized this week when they fell ill after inhaling substances from their vape pens, according to officials.

Tina Ritchie, dean of students at North Warren Regional School, sent a letter to paents Thursday saying the school had several students fall ill after inhaling substances from vape pens.

That day, the school confiscated four vape devices from students. Those devices were turned over to the local police department, she said.

"This is a burgeoning problem and as recently as December 18, the US Surgeon General declared teen vaping to be a nationwide epidemic," she said.

The three students were taken to Newton Medical Center when they fell ill after inhaling substances from JUUL, which resembles a small, thin flash drive, police and school officials told The New Jersey Herald. A single JUUL pod contains the same amount of nicotine as one pack of cigarettes.

.The incident happened at 10:14 a.m. on Thursday, according to The New Jersey Herald, when a school administrator called the Blairstown Police reporting that several juveniles at the school were feeling sick. They were treated and released by the hospital.

Ritchie reminded parents that, just as cigarettes are not permitted on school grounds, vape pens are likewise not permitted.

"We are very concerned about the safety of our students and do not want these devices in our school or in the hands of our children," she said. "Vape pens often have enticing flavors like 'mighty mango' or 'cool cucumber' that seem innocent but can be very dangerous to our students."

She said it is also possible for students to easily purchase THC-based vape oils from online retailers.

"This is extremely concerning to us," she said. "We are in the process of installing vape detectors in our bathrooms and in the meantime have locked some of the bathrooms in an attempt to monitor these areas more closely."

Image via California Department of Public Health