HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) - Teen vaping has become an issue doctors say has risen to epidemic proportions.
In a study done by the Food & Drug Administration, more than one-in-four youths reported using some kind of e-cigarette daily. Vape Devices
Hattiesburg Clinic Pediatrician Dr. Anita Henderson was among the doctors, lawmakers and law enforcement officers who took part in a discussion about combating teen vaping. The meeting was hosted by the Lamar County School District Thursday morning.
“We are seeing kids, even in middle school, sometimes even younger, who are regularly vaping,” Henderson said. “It’s impacting schools. It’s impacting their ability in sports. It is impacting their sleep, their quality of life.”
In January, the district cracked down on vaping, which resulted in a revamped policy that resulted in harsher punishments for teens caught with a vape.
School leaders said students already had found it easy to conceal e-cigarettes, and Thursday, they warned, that the kids were getting creative, disguising vapes to resemble other objects, like a pen or highlighter.
Administrators said they’re finding it more difficult to identify students who have them.
“We felt like it was a good thing to get other people, law enforcement, legislators, local pastors and our school district together to try to come up with a solution to the vaping issues that we’re seeing in our school district and in our community as well,” Hampton said.
While the district beefed up the punishment for having an e-cigarette on campus, Lamar County School District Superintendent Dr. Steven Hampton said more is under review.
Hampton said the best way to combat this issue was to band with other people in the community.
“This is bigger than just one person,” says Hampton. “This is bigger than the school district. It is in our communities, it’s in our churches. So what we’re trying to do, especially with this meeting is just to educate, and try to combat it that way.”
Hampton said Hope Church Pastor Joel Gatlin sparked that idea as the two talked about the growing issue of teen vaping and wanted to do something about it.
“For not only the faith leaders, but community leaders, people from all, all aspects of life that come together to bring a unique perspective because vaping is indiscriminate in the sense of it affects us all,” Gatlin said.
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