Ciara Parizek/MDN The Jim Hill Middle School Vape Task Force members lined up in the foyer for a photo on Wednesday during their National Takedown Tobacco Day event. From left to right, the task force is comprised of adviser Shannon Ostrom and students Madisyn Racine, Hatti Reinke, Brooklyn Dixon, Korbin Kraft, Grady Weppler, Carson Fiske and Chase Holman.

Jim Hill Middle School in Minot held its second annual National Takedown Tobacco Day event on Wednesday, with Vape Task Force members giving information to fellow classmates to warn them of the risks of underage vaping and smoking.

Before vaporizers became popular, people satiated their need for nicotine with cigarettes, cigars and chew, among other methods. A vaporizor, or vape, uses a battery and a heating component to turn the nicotine juice or salt into vapor, which is then inhaled just like a cigarette.

Ostrom said the most common places she and other teachers find students in possession of vaporizers is in the hallway, attempting to pass it off or it is seen on them. She also noted that vapes are seen much more than cigarettes inside the halls of the school.

In order to discourage their classmates from using nicotine products before they are of legal age, students from Jim Hill banded together with Ostrom last year to create their first Vape Task Force.

She heard about National Takedown Tobacco Day and that there were events to go along with it, so she approached the principal and it was approved.

This year, there are a total of seven students on the Vape Task Force. They talk to their fellow classmates once a month about vaping and the effects it can have on the body.

On Wednesday, in honor of National Takedown Tobacco Day, they spent some time in the school’s foyer with tables, pamphlets and other educational material. To make the day more fun and interesting, a mini-golf course was set up. However, to avoid broken windows, the students who played had to use a rubber ball.

The eighth-grade students have talked to the seventh-graders during their health classes, fliers are hung on the bulletin boards in the halls and the task force meets with students from other schools to discuss how things are going in their respective environments. Anti-vaping messages are put up periodically

First District Health Unit works with the students, as well, to talk about tobacco and nicotine cessation.

Next year, though, “might be more of a rebuilding,” according to Ostrom. The new North High School is scheduled to open in the fall, so students may get shuffled around based on the school zone they live in.

“These kids look down their nose at a cigarette but having a vape is more acceptable,” Ostrom said.

The percentage of students who have been caught with a vape or cigarettes on their person has decreased as the years have gone by.

“We feel like we’re on the upswing and getting some positive movement,” Ostrom said. “National statistics actually indicate that the numbers (of underage smokers) are decreasing. Slowly but surely.”