An employee displays some of the varieties of disposable electronic cigarette devices manufactured by EB Design at Vapes N Smoke in Pinecrest, Fla., June 26. Since 2020, the number of different e-cigarette devices for sale in the U.S. has exploded to more than 9,000, a nearly three-fold increase driven almost entirely by a wave of disposable vapes from China, many marketed to teens. Associated Press file photo

Driven by a wave of cheap, disposable devices imported from China, the number of electronic cigarette devices available in the United States continues to climb, according to sales data obtained by The Associated Press.

Those disposable devices, along with the traditional refillable pieces, remain popular with teens, despite the Food and Drug Administration’s efforts to crack down on flavors that appeal to kids.

There isn’t enough data to prove if vaping is better or worse than smoking cigarettes, according to Briana Cunningham, prevention supervisor at Blair Drug and Alcohol, but local school officials know vaping interferes with learning.

“I think people would be surprised at how young many students are when they start vaping,” said Shane Cower, Tyrone Area Middle School principal.

He and high school Principal Chad Packer said vaping is addictive and students spend too much time trying to get out of class to take a hit instead of concentrating on their academics.

Tyrone students from middle and high school grade levels have been caught either actively vaping or in possession of the materials, they said.

The two report about two or three infractions per month at their respective schools.

Students are vaping the most in locker rooms and bathrooms, said Altoona Area High School Principal Andrew Neely.

Aside from the addictive nature of the vapes, the issue includes other students being exposed to the chemicals in vaping.

“It is not a place other students want to be a part of and it forces them to find another bathroom — this is what I heard from students,” Neely said.

Sensors common

Vape detectors in the high school bathrooms do help, Neely said.

School officials get an alert when the detectors go off, helping them figure out who was vaping.

Vape sensors are becoming the norm, as Richard Schreier, Bellwood-Antis High School principal, said both of the district’s secondary schools have sensors installed in bathrooms.

He, too, said the sensors help cut down on vaping in the buildings.

“Now that students are aware, our incidents have decreased significantly,” he said.

Bellwood-Antis students are also able to report the use or possession of vapes through an anonymous tip line.

During the 2022-23 school year, 15 offenses of students using a vaping device in school or on school transportation were identified. That’s down from the previous school year when there were 23 infractions.

Morning searches are also done at Altoona Area High School to make sure vape pens and the materials do not end up in the building.

“As we find new ways to learn about their use, students will find new creative methods to hide their use and devices in school,” Schreier said.

At the entrance to the Altoona Area buildings, vapes are dropped behind bushes, students told the Mirror. When asked, school officials said they didn’t know about this “hiding place,” but will now keep an eye out for them.

Students face consequences

In many Blair County school districts, when a student is caught vaping or in the possession of vapes, the device is confiscated and the contents of the pods are investigated.

The student’s parents or guardians are then contacted.

The consequences can be steep, especially in how the three-day suspension disrupts a student’s schedule. In addition, a student is issued a non-traffic citation, filed through the district magistrate for possession on school property. Students are also issued a $50 fine and entered into a cessation education group.

Students in the Claysburg-Kimmel School District can opt for a Smokeless Saturday, said Brannan Raptosh, assistant high school principal.

This four-hour, $50 class is taught by Breathe PA, serves as a disciplinary action and also a learning experience for students. It encourages students to stop vaping, he said.

Common violation

At Spring Cove School District, Superintendent Betsy Baker said possession of vapes is one of the more common code of conduct violations in the district’s secondary schools, although she’s seen a decline slightly in recent years.

“We include preventative instruction relative to vaping within our drug and alcohol curricula,” she said.

Neely said he has been talking with Altoona administrators about the need to change the consequences for vaping.

He said incidents with students smoking is a daily occurrence, and vaping is harder to detect than regular cigarette smoke, because of the fruit and candy flavors.

The vaping industry did a good job of marketing to teenagers, he said.

“They are attractive to students — we once confiscated a vape pen that looked like an ice cream sundae,” Neely said.

Packer, at Tyrone, said they have vape pens that look like a plastic ice cream cone.

“The companies definitely market vapes to kids, and we have seen all kinds of flavors similar to candy,” he said.

More than nicotine

Packer said students pick up the habit because it’s “the cool thing” to do and they want to fit into a group.

But, students don’t necessarily know what they are filling their lungs with, school officials said.

Neely said it’s alarming the amount of THC and other drugs in the vaping liquids he’s seen.

“Having other things other than nicotine in the liquid is very concerning — there could be fentanyl even if the students are not aware of it,” he said.

For this reason, Neely said there are talks of changing the consequences in Altoona schools for students caught vaping.

Schreier said he is concerned not only with the addictions students develop with the devices but that picking up the habit is easy for even young kids.

“Many students know that they will receive major consequences for vaping, but still do it because they need to hit it,” he said.

Raptosh said all school districts are in the same boat when it comes to dealing with students vaping and are all just trying to find new ways to combat it.

“It is just the current method of choice,” he said, comparing vaping with cigarettes. “It is a trendy way to participate in something that has always been present.”

Addiction to vaping “is one of the most prevalent of the substances right now,” said Cunningham, of BDAP.

In an effort to curb smoking in any form, representatives from the organization go into the schools to teach students tools to refuse an offer of vaping or smoking and to counter peer pressure. There are also programs that provide opportunities for talking about the issue.

“Vaping juices can be harmful, and the concerning part is sometimes the kids do not know what they are smoking,” Cunningham said.

Because vaping can be a quick hit, unlike lighting up a cigarette, kids can “constantly hit their vapes,” she said, noting it’s possible to get more nicotine than cigarettes because it is easier to do it more often.

Serious health issues

Vaping more often, coupled with the questionable substances found in the pods, is a huge concern for health officials.

Beverly Haynes from Altoona Lung Specialists said vaping can cause serious lung diseases, the worst being lung cancer. But vaping also affects the heart and can cause death.

“There are various effects to the lungs, the e-juice contains tons of toxins including Flakka (bath salts), formaldehyde, acrolein (which kills weeds) and acetaldehyde,” she shared in an email. “It also contains nicotine and many reports of fentanyl and THC and other substances called propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin. These last two substances are highly addictive.”

Long-term vaping can lead to permanent lung and heart damage, most of which is irreversible, she said.

Lung diseases such as COPD, cancer, emphysema, popcorn lung, lipoid pneumonia and collapsed lung are bad enough, but the side effects that go with these diseases include pain and wheezing, she said. Treatment includes prescription medications as well as inhalers and oxygen use.

Perhaps the “very worst thing about teens vaping,” she said, “is that their brains are not fully developed, and unfortunately they become addicted to the many flavors that are marketed.”

The thought that vaping is safer than smoking is simply not true, she stated.

Those standing in the vapor stream are at risk, too, she said, as the vapor/emissions contain nicotine and other substances such as benzene (which is a chemical found in car exhaust), diacetyl (which is a byproduct of fermentation and what gives it a buttery taste) and other particles.

AASD Community Relations Director Paula Foreman said there is a lot of indifference toward vaping from both students and parents.

“The key component is that parents and students do not see the dangers of vaping,” she said.

Neely wants to hold an evening information session for parents to learn about the dangers of vaping and what to look for from experts.

Mirror Staff Writer Cati Keith is at 814-946-7535.