GREENSBORO, N.C. — It has been decades since schools banned cigarette smoking.
The new problem impacting Triad schools is vape pens or e-cigarettes.
Technology is now helping districts in the fight to eliminate vaping, which doctors have said causes an increased risk of heart disease and lung cancer, just as cigarette smoking would.
Guilford County Schools will soon be installing new vape detectors.
The district plans to install them in all middle and high school bathrooms.
Reverend Treena Jackson is a GCS parent and supports the plan to install the new devices.
"I do think that being able to utilize technology to monitor our environment to make sure that they are healthy environments that, will facilitate learning and safe spaces, for not just the students but also our faculty and staff is definitely a good thing," said Jackson.
Rockingham County Schools are already using vape detectors.
District Spokesperson Sean Gladieux said they have made a difference throughout the district.
In an email, Gladieux said, "when we can prevent any negative behavior from beginning or being undertaken, this is a win. When a student begins using a vape and we detect then we can intervene and hopefully change the negative behavior through education."
Stokes County Schools installed 85 environmental sensors, which detect vape usage, in student restrooms at all middle and high schools in the district earlier this year.
Guilford County Schools could begin installing the vape detectors in the spring of 2024.