With the rise of lung illnesses believed to be related to vaping, prevention awareness campaigns have been reeving up to keep school children from using electronic smoking devices.
The School District of Lee County's prevention specialist, Kathy Wynne, said there are a lot of misconceptions about vaping.
"They use the word 'vape' for vapor but it's not a vapor, it's an aerosol," Wynne said. "Aerosol leaves residue on the lungs and we’re seeing, you know, a lot of fall out from that."
According to Wynne, Lee County students who participated in the 2018 Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey reported a slightly higher use of vaping than the state average.
"And the bad thing is, if they get addicted to nicotine and they vape, they’re four times more likely to start using cigarettes, and so then we have dual users," Wynne said.
Lee Schools has launched a district-wide prevention campaign and has been regularly hosting parent presentations to spread awareness on the dangers of vaping.
The next informative session on vaping will be hosted by the district via Facebook Live on Wednesday, Dec. 11, at 6 p.m.
image credit to vaping360.com
