Granite school district is attempting to combat vaping and e-cigarette use in a creative way--through student produced video.
The videos were submitted as part of a district wide contest. Students were encouraged to produce minute long videos that showed the dangers of vaping. And how to resist peer pressure.
The prize winning video shows students in an empty parking structure. There's a hooded vape dealer. He looks very ominous. And then there’s an abrupt cut to a talking purple puppet.
"Woah, woah, woah, wait. Before you decide to try it, think about what I’m about to tell you," says the puppet head. Who is dressed like a school administrator.
The puppet then describes how vaping affects the brain, increases hyperactivity and causes respiratory problems. All of this is depicted with stop motion on screen. A clay brain, paper lungs. Pipe cleaner arrows.
"That’s the wonderful creativity that we have from our students," says Paul Edmunds,
That’s Paul Edmunds. He’s in charge of drug prevention for Granite school district. And he says that according to statewide surveys vaping has increased dramatically in the past few years.
“E-cigarette use when from in 2011 from about 6 percent overall to 22 percent overall in 2015," says Edmunds.
Along with this data Edmunds says this is a growing concern at schools. More students are being caught vaping on campuses. But Edmunds plans to help turn that around, and he’s hopeful.
“The hope comes because we see the kids who send in videos like this," says Edmunds. "The kids who say hey I’ll stand up and I’ll say this isn’t OK.”
The videos will be used as part of new district training. The idea is that while some students might tune out advice from an adult--it’s harder to do when coming from your peers.
