High School Principal Confiscates Vaping Device From Student And Reportedly Falls Victim To Nicotine Poisoning

Nicotine can be absorbed through the skin and that’s just what one high school principal found out the hard way when he confiscated a nicotine vaporizer from a student — that is, if he didn’t know prior to the incident.

John Conway, the assistant principal at Jamestown High School in Jamestown, North Dakota, confiscated a liquid nicotine vaporizer, or “e-cig,” from a student after the student was spotted exchanging the device with another student outside of a bathroom on campus.

After confronting the two students, a vape was discovered in the shoe of one of the students, but that’s probably not what gave Conway nicotine poisoning as another product prohibited on school grounds was also found: a bottle of e-liquid.

The bottle, which was discovered in the backpack of one of the students, had “an oily substance on the outside,” according to Conway.

“There was an oily substance on the outside of the bottle.”

After confiscating the bottle of vape juice, Conway tightened up the bottle’s lid and then proceeded to place it in a bag. At the time, he reportedly thought nothing of the “oily substance” on the outside of the bottle, that is, until he began to experience nausea and dizziness.

“I’d be nauseous, then there would be different kinds of spins,” Conway said in regards to the incident. He added that it was, by his account, “a weird feeling.”

“I kept going through different stages. I’d be nauseous, then there would be different kinds of spins. It was a weird feeling.”

As it turns out, the oily substance on the outside of the bottle was likely e-juice, which is a liquid nicotine solution used in electronic cigarettes and similar electronic vaping devices.

Following his exposure, Conway went for a roller coaster of a ride in which he experienced intense emotions and feelings of illness over the course of a couple hours before he eventually went home, slept clear through the afternoon, and eventually awoke from his slumber with the worst headache he ever had.

It took “about 12 hours” before he eventually felt well again, Inforum reported.

“I finally felt better after about 12 hours.”

The school’s resource officer requested that the liquid be tested and the results came back negative for any foreign substances.

As a result of the incident, the school’s administration is making a point to be extra cautious and the school’s faculty has been subsequently warned against coming in direct physical contact with any e-liquid found on campus.

According to Conway, both the teachers as well as the other adults “need to be more vigilant.”

“Last week we had a meeting with the teachers and warned them not to touch the stuff. Teachers and adults need to be more vigilant.”

In the United States, age restrictions placed on the sale of tobacco prevent minors from legally purchasing tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes and liquid nicotine. Regardless, such products are managing to make their way into the hands of students and are subsequently being found in schools across the country and Jamestown High School is no exception.

By Conway’s account, he’s been confiscating vapes from students at a rate of “a couple per week this year.”

“Last year we started hearing about them but it is rampant this year. I’m collecting a couple per week this year.”

Are you surprised by the prevalence of vaping in U.S. schools? What do you think should be done about it? You can share your thoughts on the matter in the comments section below.