This year, Sedro-Woolley High School has been dealing with students vaping in the bathrooms while administrators are monitoring outside. With that, it has become a major issue that Sedro-Woolley High School staff are trying to get a handle on.
“From my perspective, I feel a lot of students do it to fit in with a friend group,” said Chris Spencer, Dean of Students at SWHS. “The addiction rate is off the charts with the vapes.”
The concentrations of the substances that the students are using are very high and they are smoking often. Students are also not sure about what exactly they are using, said Spencer.
“This is very dangerous,” he added.
Chris Kennedy, the drug and alcohol counselor, says students talk about how difficult it is to go through a school day without taking a hit or drag with a vape.
“It is difficult to stop vaping. It can become a habit after using it a couple of times. The urge to vape is strong enough to risk getting caught at school in order to fill that internal craving,’’ said Kennedy.
Vaping companies are offering more flavors for E-juice because it keeps teenagers engaged with the product. This is making more students addicted to vaping because they enjoy the wide assortment of flavors that taste good to them when they vape. Up until recently, vape E-juice was offered in more than 50 flavors.
“The company intentionally focuses on young people,” said Spencer.
Bubblegum and cotton candy are some examples of this.
“Most of the flavors are no longer available due to changes in regulations,” he said.
The expense of vaping becomes even more excessive for students as more people “hit” their peer’s devices, fueling the addiction of more and more students.
Advertising wants students to believe vaping can help them with stress, anxiety and depression, yet numerous studies have shown this not to be true.
According to the CDC, “approximately two-thirds of JUUL users aged 15-24 do not know that JUUL always contains nicotine.”
After being caught, getting warnings, and conferences with parents, some students say they regret using vapes, and want to quit, but still use it to fit in with the crowd, or simply because they are now addicted.