An e-cigarette lays on top of its case in April 2014.
Daily Journal Archives
News from around Johnson County as reported on April 18 in the pages of the Daily Journal and the Franklin Evening Star from the last 112 years.
On this day in 2014, the main story on the front page of the Daily Journal was about how tobacco use was down but e-cigarette use was rising at schools.
Typically, the punishment for smoking or having cigarettes at Greenwood Community High School was a $120 minimum ticket. Students also had to spend three hours at Saturday school. If they were caught again, the fine went up and school privileges were taken away, assistant principal Todd Garrison said.
But e-cigarettes were relatively new, and many schools hadn’t updated student handbooks or policies banning students from using them, though state law said e-cigarettes were illegal for anyone under 18.
While principals could tell students to stop using e-cigarettes, they couldn’t punish or suspend students who get caught with them, Indiana School Board Association general counsel David Emmert said.
If a student under 18 is using an e-cigarette, the police could be called to write a ticket. Some school districts also had policies that stated students could be suspended or expelled if they violate state law, ISBA staff attorney Lisa Tanselle said.
The school board association was urging schools to catch up with the new technology in order to keep students from lighting up e-cigarettes between class, Emmert said.
Fewer students in Johnson County were being caught with cigarettes and tobacco at school during the previous several years. One concern of health officials was that more teens were using e-cigarettes instead.
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Other memorable Johnson County stories from this day
2012
The Greenwood Parks Board was considering closing the city’s 55-year-old pool due to safety concerns.
2003
A search was ongoing for a Bargersville couple who didn’t return home after a trip to Ohio.
1994
A funeral was being planned for a baby found dead in a Franklin park.
