Vaping illnesses, deaths on rise; students share thoughts

At Airport high school there has been a recent rise in vaping among students, sometimes on school grounds.

The current punishment for being caught with an E-Cigarette on school grounds is up to 5 days of out of school suspension for a student’s first offense. For their third offense students will have a discipline hearing. If the student is found to have anything containing THC, a chemical found in marijuana, they will be charged with a Category 1 drug possession offense which would result in a hearing, regardless of the number of previous offenses.

Vaping has been proven to be a hazard to teen’s health but, according to Safety and Health magazine, approximately 30% of high school students still vape.

Adding to the paranoia about vaping are the recent rise in lung illnesses among vapors. The CDC has stated that, as of September 19th 2019, around 580 cases of vaping related lung diseases have occurred, some of which were in South Carolina. No deaths have been reported in South Carolina but a total of 12 have been reported in other states, including Georgia.

Gracyn W., Airport’s freshman class vice president, thinks that in-school suspension would be an appropriate punishment for being caught vaping on school grounds.

Freshman Alexi S. says, “I think they should either be [given] out of school suspension or … detention on a Saturday.”

Both agree that students caught vaping should be prohibited from participating in activities like student government and sports.

Some students at Airport agree that there should be a punishment for vaping on school grounds while others don't see a problem with it.

For more information on vaping students can visit www.cdc.gov.