It's hard to stop teens from vaping in school

E-cigarettes — now linked to cases of lung disease nationwide — are becoming more popular for youth.

One in three high school seniors in Washington state has vaped.

And a King County teenager spent several days in the hospital this summer with a lung disease that's been associated with vaping. Health officials are investigating more about the cause.

Nationally, teen vaping went up 78% between 2017 and 2018; a quarter of those users vape most days of the month. That's according to data from Washington's Healthy Youth Survey, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Washington's Department of Health is leading anti-vaping campaigns, warning it could lead to addiction problems or other health issues for young people.

School districts run health campaigns, too, but stopping kids from vaping is another story.

"Our biggest hope is that we can keep kids engaged and attending [school]," says Mandy Paradise, who supervises the Prevention Intervention Services Program for the state schools office in Olympia.

"It's really difficult knowing what the discipline should look like so that kids come back to school," she said, "and kids don't feel alienated because they might be engaged in substance use."

Douglas Wagoner, spokesperson with the state department of health, says vaping is not safe in any form for young people.

"Nicotine can significantly effect brain development and can lead to addiction not only to nicotine products but can sort of prime the brain for addiction to other substances," he says.

Washington state's Department of Health and the Trump Administration are both in talks about a ban on flavored e-cigarettes, a favorite among younger users.

As more kids and adults use e-cigarettes, the state health department is rolling out tools to help.

Wagoner says they're trying to reach kids on social media and in schools. The department of health will put out an app designed to help teenagers quit vaping later this year. It already runs an app to help adult cigarette smokers.