Vape Detectors Being Implemented on School Buses for Students' Health and Safety

Since their introduction in the 2000s, e-cigarettes - also known as 'vapes' - have quickly become a popular way to consume nicotine. Vapes boil a nicotine-infused liquid to create a vapor which is inhaled. While e-cigarettes are technically less harmful than normal cigarettes, any nicotine product is dangerous - especially to youths.

According to government statistics, more than 5% of students are using vapes, and they are now the preferred way for youth to use nicotine. Anecdotally, school districts are reporting increased use of vapes on buses, leading some to look into the possibility of installing vape detectors.

Is this a necessary move? Let's take a look.

Will Vape Detectors Improve Student Safety?

1 - Is it a crisis?

Some people are referring to the rise in student vaping as a 'crisis,' but we need to point out: 5-6% of students isn't that many. By comparison, thirty percent of HS Seniors will admit to using marijuana in the last year, and marijuana is still outright illegal in many areas.

Of course, marijuana smoke is extremely easy to smell, so few students are lighting up on the bus. Vapes, on the other hand, can produce very little odor.

2 - Can vapes be used for other purposes?

Strictly speaking, almost any ingestible chemical can be vaped, and there have been reports of people using vapes to consume much more dangerous drugs such as crystal meth or fentanyl.

However, this seems to be an outlier in usage so far, with little data suggesting it's commonplace.

3 - Would vape detectors be expensive to implement?

E-cigarette smoke is heavier than air, so current proposals for vape detectors involve putting several sensors underneath seats throughout the bus. These are then linked to an alert system installed near the driver. With each sensor typically costing several hundred dollars (as of writing) this would be a costly upgrade for schools that are already facing tight budgets.

4 - Can't your driver/monitors see the smoke?

Vapes typically produce a lot of smoke/steam. In many cases, an adult paying attention - or perhaps an assigned student minder - should be able to simply see the puffs of smoke coming out from under seats. Training people to spot vape smoke would be much cheaper than electronic detectors.

In short, at present we don't think the vaping problem is bad enough to justify the high costs of installing detectors. Especially not when schools already have tight budgets.

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