Vaping concerns come to light at East Meadow High School panel discussion

As concerns mount about the risks of e-cigarette use amid a rising death toll from vaping-related illnesses, East Meadow residents are tackling the issue through education.

The Council of East Meadow Community Organizations, the PTA Council and the Nassau County Police Department coordinated a series of panel discussions called “Our Children and Vaping,” the second of which was held at East Meadow High School on Monday.

The panel included John Zaso, a pediatric and adolescent physician; Melodi Pirzada, chief pediatric pulmonologist at NYU Winthrop Hospital; John Nikiel, a former NCPD officer; and Yolanda Turner, an NCPD community affairs officer.

Pirzada said she saw her first vaping-related illness in July, when an 18-year-old patient had a chronic cough and chest tightness, and was vomiting uncontrollably. He wasn’t responding to antibiotics, and fell into a coma before doctors managed to revive him.

“I’ll never forget it,” Pirzada said. “That was the first time I saw this.”

She found out that the patient had been vaping THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, from an e-cigarette he purchased illegally. Pirzada has seen 22 similar cases since then, all of which point to vitamin e acetate, a thickening agent used in black-market THC cartridges, as the cause. The chemical can coat and damage the lungs when inhaled.

The condition is now known as vaping-associated acute lung injury, and in addition to nicotine addiction, is the greatest concern among health professionals who deal with the vaping epidemic, Pirzada said.

CEMCO sent out fliers promoting the event three weeks ago, on which they referenced the Center for Disease Control’s findings that there were 34 deaths and 1,604 illnesses, nationwide, related to vaping, since April. The numbers have spiked, however, and the CDC reported on Nov. 13 that there were 42 deaths and 2,172 illnesses, nationwide, related to vaping.

“It’s up to you to be the eyes and ears of the community,” Nikiel said. “If you know a store selling vape products and it seems suspicious, call your local police and report it, or ask to talk to [the county’s Problem-Oriented Police officers] … and remain confidential.”

Turner spoke of the NCPD’s sting operations to prevent stores from illegally selling vaping products to minors. The sale of those products to anyone under 21 is illegal in Nassau County, and the county’s Narcotics Vice Squad recently enlisted several underage people to act as undercover agents and purchase vaping products at stores across the county.

The NCPD sting, known as “Operation Vape Out,” led detectives to two individuals, one working at a business in Bellmore and another working from Seaford. Both were arrested and issued appearance tickets on Nov. 7.

Turner frequently appears in schools to warn students about the dangers of vaping. She reminded attendees that students can be arrested if found with a THC pen and suspended if found with a nicotine vape. She also noted, however, that New York state law allows people to seek medical help, without fear of arrest, if they are sick or see someone who is sick from vaping.

State Sen. Kevin Thomas has been working to fight the vaping scourge, and recently introduced a bill to prohibit the sale of refillable e-liquid cartridges, which he said can be tampered with and filled with unregulated and potentially harmful liquids.

“Given the rise of vaping-related injuries and fatalities, it’s clear that we need to regulate these products in a common-sense manner,” Thomas said. “Keeping these products off the shelves and out of our schools will be a priority for me when I head back to Albany.”

Daniel Tellerman, a senior at East Meadow High School who attended the panel discussion with some of his classmates, noted that the vaping epidemic doesn’t discriminate in East Meadow. He has seen it affect students who cut class and slack off, but has also seen students in advanced courses who vape to relieve stress.

“I really think it takes education and observation,” Tellerman said. “You could educate all you want, but it’s not going to sink in until they go through a tragedy and see, firsthand, the dangers of vaping.”

CEMCO President Joe Parisi concluded the event by reading a statement from former County Legislator Norma Gonsalvez, who has organized East Meadow drug-prevention efforts, including the school assemblies “Too Good for Drugs” in May 2010 and “Not My Child” in April 2012.

“Unfortunately, while we focused on the opioid epidemic, another danger has surfaced, “Gonsalvez wrote. “The more we learn through programs like this one, the more we could do protect our children from the dangers of vaping.”