Joyce from Sawyer County Public Health presented results from a vaping-education program delivered to Hayward, LCO and Winter schools and reviewed an accompanying flyer and parent outreach plan.

Joyce told the CJCC the program reached nearly 1,000 students in school presentations and that the survey sample included just under 400 student responses. She cautioned that some survey items showed inconsistent answers and that percentage figures cited reflect only the subset of students who reported they had tried vaping. “If you look at when the age when vape, I mean, you can see the average… the biggest average is 11 to 13, but I think a real concern should be that 5 to 10 years old is 20 percent,” Joyce said — language she used to describe the distribution among respondents who reported vaping.

Among respondents who reported vaping, Joyce said 27% reported vaping more than 20 times a day, and 62% said they wanted to quit. The survey also included an item about perceived contents of vapes; 2% of respondents listed meth. Joyce said the educational materials emphasize that a device labeled a “vape” is not harmless water vapor and that parents may not know the signs of addiction; a billboard contest and posters are planned for parent outreach if school districts permit email distribution of the flyers to families.

Joyce asked CJCC members to expect a June report on jail interviews and surveys she completed as part of fentanyl-response work. Members also noted that part of the county’s opioid-settlement communications funding paid for professional marketing that supported the public-health materials.

Public health staff said the survey has limitations because participation required parental opt-in in some districts, and inconsistent self-reporting by students means the survey likely undercounts or misstates prevalence; Joyce recommended parental outreach and continued education efforts rather than treating the raw percentages as population prevalence.