BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Telegraph Staff Writer
KEYSTONE HEIGHTS—A class of JROTC cadets told a visiting speaker at Keystone Heights High School that they rarely see cigarettes on campus but that vaping at the school is common.
Air National Guard Technical Sergeant Rob George presented an anti-drug demonstration to the students, warning them against the dangers of alcohol, marijuana, prescription pills and vaping.
George said his presentation was part of the Army and Air Force’s joint counter-drug program.
The sergeant warned students about the dangers of gateway drugs like tobacco, alcohol and prescription pills that could lead to more dangerous and addictive narcotics.
Several students tried walking with goggles that simulated the vision a person would have under the influence of alcohol.
Cadet First Sgt. William Wooden seemed unaffected by the goggles. However, other students stumbled around to their classmates’ amusement.
“It’s funny but serious at the same time,” George said. “So, what do you imagine would happen if a police officer sees you trying to walk like that?”
George spent more time on vaping, telling students that as water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit, some vapes reach 300 degrees.
“That heat being pumped in there, that’s you burning the nerves in your mouth,” he said. “So, when you guys have people that do it constantly, and you don’t have a sore throat anymore, right? It’s because you burnt every nerve in your mouth.”
The serviceman also said vapes contain many chemicals, including acetone which he said is used in rat poisoning.
George warned the students that one vaping cartridge can contain as much nicotine as several packs of cigarettes.
He also described the condition, commonly known as popcorn lung, in which the lungs of vape users are covered in scar tissue, and the only treatment for the condition is a lung transplant.
George demonstrated the long-term effects of smoking and vaping by showing the students a dental model that simulated the impact of tobacco. He also used an air pump to blow up two pig lungs, one unaffected by smoking and the other destroyed by tobacco.
After the drug presentation, George took questions from the cadets about military life, and their interest in his presentation suddenly spiked.
However, he tried to steer the discussion back to drugs, telling the cadets about airmen he has seen struggling with physical fitness and shortness of breath because of smoking and vaping.
