Vaping or using e-cigs in school has been a growing problem in recent years. Vapes and e-cigs are easy to obtain and appeal to the younger audience with their different flavors. Their flavors and relatively low prices have made the devices attractive to students despite the age barrier of 18. With this youth epidemic growing, the Goddard school district has sued the companies creating the e-cigs.

“It’s a significant problem,” Goddard school board president Kevin McWhorter said. “Vaping has exploded, and it’s a product people don’t know how dangerous it is. Kids shouldn’t be doing it, and it has a bad impact on learning.”

Though vaping can be portrayed as safer, e-cig products still contain dangerous amounts of nicotine. In fact, most vape cartridges contain more nicotine than cigarettes.

“Each JUUL cartridge contains roughly the same amount of nicotine as 20 cigarettes,”  the National Education Association said.

Since students have been able to easily obtain vapes and e-cigs, this increased nicotine intake is beginning to have a serious effect on the younger generation. The marketing and sale of these potentially dangerous devices toward those students led to the lawsuit by Goddard. 

“I think that there should be some more regulations on how they are obtained,” principal Chris Botts said. “I think at the end of the day we are responsible for our own decisions.”