An increasing number of high school students are using electronic cigarettes, which researchers believe could be a gateway to tobacco products, The Washington Post reported.
Educators are uncertain how to deal with students caught puffing on the devices that simulate smoking. According to a Center for Disease Control and Prevention study released this week, e-cigarette use among middle and high school students nearly doubled from 2011 to 2012.
Researchers worry that puffing on e-cigarettes, which typically contain nicotine just as traditional cigarettes do, could lead to nicotine addiction. Nicotine has been shown to interrupt adolescent brain development, the CDC said. E-cigarettes are not yet regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, which says further research is needed to evaluate health risks.
While traditional cigarettes are illegal to sell to minors, the boundaries on e-cigarettes are not so clear. Maryland bans their sale, while Virginia does not.
Educators around the country have spotted the battery-powered devices, which turn a liquid form of nicotine into an inhalable vapor, at their schools.
"It's really new, and it's popping up, and I think it bears some looking at in terms of offering resources for prevention and particularly for intervention," said Richard Moody, supervisor for student affairs/Safe and Drug-Free Schools in Prince George's County. "I think students are just a little naive, and they think it's harmless when it really isn't."
Administrators in Fairfax County, Va., have encountered some students with e-cigarettes and have been told to treat the devices like real tobacco.
"I think everyone across the country is increasing their awareness about this," said Mary Ann Panarelli, county director of intervention and prevention services.
High school students caught with e-cigarettes are usually sent to a one-day tobacco seminar, while younger students are talked with one-on-one. Students may not be aware of the device's potential danger, Panarelli said.
"The kids, when they first hear about it, think, 'Oh, this must be safer somehow because it's only an imitation,'" she said.
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