Teen vaping continues to plague Northwest Florida schools
WEAR News | By Samantha Serbin | December 9, 2024
ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is reporting vaping is the most common form of nicotine for kids in the country. Now vaping is becoming not only a health problem, but a crisis in the classroom, too.
In the first ten weeks of school this year, the Escambia County School District reports disciplining nearly 180 students for vaping. ECSD reports catching nearly 700 students for vaping in the 2023-2024 school year.
“I feel like it’s definitely worse now than it was freshman year,” Kiera Jones said, a senior at Booker T. Washington High School. “I don’t think a lot of [students] know the way it impacts your health. I think that’s a big part of it, they simply don’t know it’s not good for you. Some know. They just don’t think it’s that important which is another problem.”
Jones said almost all vaping happens in the bathrooms.
“We make sure there’s adult presence in that area at all times,” Cecelia Hale said.
An administrative dean at Booker T. Washington, Hale said students make a lot of excuses when caught vaping on campus.
“I got it from my friends.”
“I didn’t know it had these serious consequences.”
“I just can’t stop.”
“This year we have seen an increase in THC vapes versus just the nicotine vapes,” Hale added. “Those students do face an automatic ten-day suspension and can go up for removal to an alternative program.”
After the devices are confiscated, students can face jail time if a lab determines the vape they had on campus tests positive for the THC ingredients.
Nicotine vapes have an automatic three days of in-school suspension, according to Hale. Students also receive a civil citation where they either must do community service or pay a $25 fine.
“A lot of times we see a lot of tears and we see a lot of heartbreak because they’re thinking, ‘I didn’t think it could be this serious,’” Hale said.
The CDC reports 8% of high school students reported using e-cigs in 2024.
The Florida Department of Health said more than a quarter of high schoolers in Escambia County reported at least trying a vape in 2022. In Santa Rosa, that number climbs to 30% and it’s even higher in Okaloosa County, with 34%.
FDOH releases data every other year so we don’t have 2024 numbers yet.
School leaders explain the problem isn’t just in high school.
“It’s trickling down lower and lower,” Hale commented.
“It looks like it starting around 6th grade, maybe 5th grade. Introduction into vaping probably comes right around this age,” Deputy Noel Sevilla said.
Sevilla is a school resource officer at Woodlawn Beach Middle School in Santa Rosa County. He started an informational program, “Escape the Vape,” in his second year as a SRO.
“If you stop them from trying it, you’ll stop them from using it,” he said. “I think it’s a health epidemic. A lot of times people get started out of boredom or they know somebody that does it. Someone in their family does it, that’s how they get access to it in the first place. Once they get hooked, nicotine is a very strong and powerful drug.”
In the presentation, he tells students about the addictive qualities of vaping and the lifelong impacts.
“If you can nip it at its original point, it keeps it from branching out,” Sevilla said. “I know at times we’ve had people who vape a lot, their lungs end up collapsing,” Sevilla explained.
Beyond that, Dr. Gul Dadlani, the chair of pediatrics at USA Health, said vaping can impact more than just physical health.
“It can also affect mood-related disorders, impulsiveness and lead to hormonal imbalances in our central nervous system,” he said. “Short term impacts can be significant in terms of lung associated injuries. When you look at the chemicals that many of the vapes use, in there they can cause direct irritation, inflammation or injury to lung tissue itself.”
“Because nicotine affects the development of the brain’s reward system, continued nicotine vaping can not only lead to nicotine addiction, but it also can make other drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine more pleasurable to a teen’s developing brain,” the National institute on Drug Abuse said.
“Inside of that liquid is what you’re ingesting: metals, cyanide, formaldehyde,” Sevilla added.
Hale showed examples of vapes where companies disguise the devices to look like highlighters, flash drives and even car fobs.
“When you look there’s over 15,000 different flavors,” Dr. Dadlani said. “To get them addicted on it and keep them on it as they continue to grow.”
To slow the growing problem, Okaloosa County schools installed more than 200 vape sensors back in 2023. You can find them in all middle and high school bathrooms. It’s a project that cost a pretty penny: $175,000+.
Superintendent Marcus Chambers said they’ve seen success from it.
Back over at Booker T. Washington, Hale said she’d love to see sensors. Until then, she’s hoping anonymous reporting, visibility and peer encouragement will help create change.
“A message: children stop vaping. Put the vapes down. The vapes are nasty, the vapes are not going to save your life. Put the vapes down and put the books up,” Jones said.
Fortunately, CDC data just recently released shows there was a significant drop in students reporting current e-cig use compared to last year — to the tune of a half million kids. They also say cigarette smoking has now reached the lowest level ever recorded by their survey. Only 1.4% of students are reporting use in 2024.
