Nome’s top education official recently told city leaders that vaping in schools is still a problem. The update sparked discussions on how to curb it, including possible bans.
Nome Public Schools Superintendent, Jamie Burgess, said that the use of electronic cigarettes, or vaping, among the student body is a key challenge.
“It really rose kind of during COVID, and it still is a continuing issue. We really try to balance education with punitive measures. You know, we don't want to suspend students out of school as much as possible, but it is a challenge,” Burgess said.
She spoke to the city council at its Nov. 10 meeting. Burgess said vaping no longer involves only nicotine. Marijuana based cartridges are becoming more common.
“I tell people, ‘Your vape is not your grandma's cigarette,’ is all I can say. So a lot of work to be done in that area,” Burgess said.
Councilman Mark Johnson didn’t attend, but had sent in comments. He had suggested a city-wide ban on the sale of vapes in the past — but he said it wasn’t supported by the former mayor or City Council.
Johnson also suggested the city could consider ordinances that block online vape sales to Nome.The discussion didn’t lead to any concrete commitments or action. City Manager Lee Smith said he needs to do more research.
“Something has come up with the vape thing before, so we'll talk to the attorneys about that. Because you see that everywhere now, particularly the buying online,” Smith said.
Over at Nome’s regional hospital, Tracy Gregg manages the Chronic Care Active Management and Prevention (CAMP) program. Gregg said she was skeptical about whether a ban on online vape purchases would be effective.
“They get it from their friends or their family members or their, you know, they steal it from their parents or their brother or sister,” Gregg said. “So I don't know if that's really going to have the impact that maybe we hope it would.”
She said prevention early on is key, including education that helped students manage stress and understand nicotine dependence. Gregg said some students caught vaping had gotten referred to the CAMP department for a youth vaping education program, as an alternative to suspension. The INDEPTH program offered information on nicotine dependence and healthier coping mechanisms.
Statewide, Department of Health youth survey data showed vape use was trending down among Alaska high schoolers in the latest snapshots from 2019 to 2023 — 26% of Alaska high school students in 2019 said they had vaped in the last 30 days. That dropped to 17% in 2023.
Nome-specific survey data was very limited. But in 2015, the survey had found one in four Nome high schoolers had vaped in the last 30 days, significantly more than the statewide rate.
Gregg said locally, it felt like e-cigarette use was still high.
