Macon pediatrician warns students about vaping, drugs

Macon pediatrician Dr. Jason Smith talked with Stratford students on Tuesday about the dangers of abusing nicotine and prescription drugs.

Smith spoke at assemblies for both the Middle School and Upper School in the Henry Tift Fine Arts Auditorium.

Overall, the students responses to the assembly were positive.

“I learned a lot about different drugs that I didn’t know about,” sophomore John Thomas Carter said. “It kind of scared me. The impact of some of those drugs are truly terrifying.”

“I thought it was a good lesson and that students learned a lot from it,” said senior Madelyn Stephens.

Students were appreciative of being made aware of the consequences of misusing substances and vaping.

“I think it was pretty good because they got a credible speaker who talked more about the reality of what would happen to your body with certain drugs rather than just talking down to us saying we shouldn’t do it and not really giving us a reason for why we should,” junior McKay Powers said.

“I think it may lower the percentage of students who vape or abuse drugs because they were told the consequences. Before they may not have known how badly it affects her body and thought it wouldn’t hurt them but now they know and will make them think hey, what am I really doing?” freshmen Lauren McElrath said.

Junior Caroline Cole said Smith’s talk would have been more effective if the teachers has not been in attendance. Students could have had a more open conversation.

“If teachers were not in there, I feel like people would have been more honest,” she said.

Here’s what others had to say:

“I think it is kind of necessary because no one has addressed this issue so far.” – Haley Hendricks, sophomore

“I agree with what he said because people’s actions can have consequences and you should think carefully about what you do.” – Olivia Santoyo, freshman

“It was helpful but also high schoolers are gonna do what they want regardless of who is talking to them and the consequences for their actions.” – Reese Ellis, junior

“It was good. They told us what we shouldn’t do.” – Chimezie Nwabuebo, freshman

“I think that they just said everything I’ve been told many times and they said for all of the answers that if you abuse the drug or did anything to much it would kill you” – Sophie Waldron, freshman

“It was very well spoken and taught me a lot about drugs and alcohol and what i should and shouldn’t do and the consequences.” -Harriette Ann Bowden, freshman

“I thought that it was informative and good for people who don’t know anything about drugs. I feel like it could have more effective if the teachers weren’t there though.” – Drake Miscall, junior

“It made me realize that we need to take better care of our bodies because it is the only one we’re going to get” – Catherine Brown, senior

“I thought it was informative and I learned a lot about some drugs and their effects that I didn’t know about before that” – Hunter Hogan, freshman

“It covered more than just vaping, and I actually learned a lot.” Ruzan Khoja, sophomore

“It was pretty informative and an eye-opening experience.”- Mary Kate Groves, freshman

“The vaping assembly was really informative and good but I don’t feel like it will change anything.”– Lila McCord, Freshman

Contributing to this report:  Sabina Ajjan, Madeline Davis, Claudia Pope, Ben Baxley, Annika Brooks, EmmaJane Canady, Karen Jarrard, Josie Lamb, Anna Parel, Cap Patel, Zeraiz Shabbir, AJ Stevenson, Jansyn Stephens, Caris Weinberg, Taylor Swan, Rania Akbar, Arya Datta. Kaitlyn Neel