BURKE COUNTY, N.C. — Policies intended to stop vaping are now in effect at some North Carolina schools.
In Burke County schools, a new policy Monday is intended to combat a growing trend among students.
The district and health officials said getting vapes out of the hands of kids is getting harder and harder by the day. A new study from Help Advisor said the use of e-cigarettes among people aged 18 and 24 years of age in North Carolina increased 190% between 2016 and 2021.
To combat the growing usage, Burke County Schools unveiled its anti-vaping policy.
“It’s much more strict," Sarah LeCroy, the director of student services at Burke County said explaining that each infraction comes with a suspension period. “There’s going to be significant consequences for vaping at school. Last year we had a school cell phone policy and we saw great success with that, and I think we want to continue on that trajectory.”
She said with consequences also comes a plan to educate kids about the risks of e-cigarettes.
"The education tells them about health consequences, the chemicals involved in a vape and that kind of thing," Renaye Chapman, an education coordinator, said.
These dangerous chemicals can be disguised by fruity flavors.
"Nicotine is addictive," Dr. Rhonda Patt with Levine Children's Hospital in Charlotte explained. "Vaping and nicotine can cause lung damage.”
Patt said identifying the vapes can also be a challenge. Manufacturers have created e-cigarettes that are disguised to look like other objects.
“The vapes are coming in all shapes in colors," Pratt explained. "I saw one that looks like a cup but the vape is in the straw."
Contact Austin Walker at awalker@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.