Vaping has officially become the newest trend for young teens. Despite the vape detectors in both girls and boys bathrooms along with the locker rooms, students are still finding ways to bring these E-cigarettes to school. Vaping has become a big problem at WHS and there is only so much that staff members can do to prevent students from bringing these devices to school.

   People are now starting to question whether or not these vapes could be affecting students’ schooling.  Many students leave classrooms for vape trips to the restrooms and even many take it to the extent of vaping in classrooms. 

   “Warsaw schools are smoke-free environments and it is illegal for teens under the age of 18 to buy vapes and against school policy to have vapes at school. Many students who vape are addicted and sneak it into their school day (many times in the bathroom) and when they are caught they end up in ISS. It is much harder to detect than smoking cigarettes, thus making this violation of school rules more difficult to catch,” Said English teacher and Journalism adviser Amanda Adler. 

    “I haven’t really noticed a drop in school productivity, since vaping has become a bigger problem at school,” said freshman Johnson Gray.

   “No I don’t think it is affecting school work, but maybe school because people think they always need it,” said senior Jacklyn Goddard.

   “School work has everything to do with the students’ motivation and if they want to do it, I don’t think vaping is affecting it,” said sophomore Abigail Flinn.

   The effects of vaping aren’t still entirely known but have been shown to have many of the same effects as traditional cigarettes. 

   “I think, being young, many students don’t think about how certain actions could affect them 5, 10. or 20 years down the road,” said English teacher Paige McKinsey.

   In addition to vaping being against school policy, schools are concerned about the growth of this trend and how it affects teen health. Vape use among teens is becoming more common and teens start to think that if everyone is doing it, it is okay to jump on that bandwagon.

   “Almost everybody has one and they’re easy to get to and they (teens) don’t think the effects mean anything,” Flinn said.

   The question is, do students even enjoy vaping or is it another trend that teenagers feel obligated to take part in for a popularity status or to feel better about themselves. 

   “Teenagers will always find something dangerous and edgy to take part in. Every generation has had this same issue. I also think that teenagers are very impressionable, and the nicotine industry has always taken advantage of this fact,” McKinsey said.

   Vaping, just like cigarettes, brings a lot of risks, including addiction. 

  According to the 2021 National Youth Tobacco Survey, more than 2 million U.S. middle and high school students reported using e-cigarettes in 2021, with more than 8 in 10 of those youth using flavored e-cigarettes (“5 Vaping Facts You Need to Know,” hopkinsmedicine.org).

   “I don’t care if you do vape or not, it’s your own choice as long as you do not influence me, you can do what you want,” said Gray. 

   Many students have stated that stress is the main reason for students choosing to vape but many articles actually state that vaping could help increase stress in the long run. 

   “Research has shown that smoking actually increases anxiety and tension,” According to MENTALHEALTH.org 

   “I assume that people still vape while knowing the risks because they’re healthier than cigarettes and it’s also a major stress reliever for some people,” sophomore Hannah Wooldridge said.

   “I think that so many people vape while knowing the effects because they’ve created an addiction and it’s hard then to stay from it and it’s a stress reliever for most people,”

Gray said.