North Kingstown wellness panel to inventory vaping signage and boost outreach to parents

The North Kingstown Health and Wellness Subcommittee met May 14 at North Kingstown High School and agreed to inventory vaping signage across district buildings and pursue outreach to parents and PTOs to support prevention work.

The effort grew out of the committee's discussion of a May presentation by the local prevention coalition and a follow-up idea to “walk around and look at signs at the high school,” said Sherry Kennedy, a school committee member and parent. Kennedy urged the group to verify that legally required signage is present in each building and to collect examples of informational posters that show what is in vaping products.

The committee discussed two practical steps: (1) ask building principals to check and report where vaping signage is posted (entry signs, nurse's office, bathrooms, locker rooms) and (2) ask Kayla, a contact with the North Kingstown Prevention Coalition, to bring sample signs to the next meeting. “I think Kayla can get those,” a committee member said; members said the coalition already distributes signs the district could use rather than funding new materials.

Members also discussed technology and enforcement. Committee members said the high school and some middle school bathrooms have electronic vape detectors; the group agreed to audit where detectors are installed (nurse's offices, bathrooms) and whether the schools communicate that capability to parents. The group noted the challenge that vaping is often less detectable than cigarette smoke and that flavored products remain readily available despite a state ban discussed later in the meeting.

Committee members proposed several outreach venues for prevention displays and hands-on visual demonstrations: orientation events for incoming students, PTO meetings, harvest festivals, wellness weeks or assemblies, and other occasions where parents and children attend. Several members said tactile or visual exhibits (for example, displays showing chemicals in vapes) and short assemblies could be more effective than “preachy” posters alone.

The subcommittee agreed on next steps: request signage examples from Kayla and the Prevention Coalition; ask each principal to report where vaping signage and detectors are located; and explore offering coalition-led hands-on demonstrations at school events or parent meetings. The group asked staff to place a vaping-signage update on the next meeting agenda so members can review findings and plan follow-up outreach.

Ending: Committee members said they will compile results and reconvene with examples and school responses at the next subcommittee meeting.