INSIDER
No kids’ cartoons or celebrities: local schools hope new e-cigarette marketing law will help curb vaping
A new state law prohibits the sale or marketing of nicotine vapes in containers that use designs some say are aimed at minors.
New state law to crack down on vaping at Texas public schools
Texas lawmakers passed House Bill 114 in the last regular session, which will lead to stricter discipline for students caught vaping or with e-cigarettes, starting on Sept. 1 when it goes into effect.
Teenage vaping rates are down since the pandemic, experts say
But now, the teenage vaping rates have fallen during COVID-19 lockdowns. Teenage vaping and COVID-19 can cause long-term debilitating lung conditions. Experts say one of the main reasons they’ve seen a drop in youth vaping is because they’re worried about their lung health. That’s because experts say vaping among teens is socially driven. Researchers suggest although teenage vaping has become less of a concern, it’s still a major problem.
Big drop reported in vaping by US teenagers
NEW YORK Vaping rates among U.S. teenagers fell dramatically this year, according to a federal report released Wednesday. That marks a dramatic decline from a similar survey last year that found about 28% of high school students and 11% of middle school students recently vaped. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducts the national survey of more than 20,000 middle and high school students. It asks students if they had used any vaping or traditional tobacco products in the previous month. CDC officials gradually focused their investigation on black market THC cartridges, and on a chemical compound called vitamin E acetate that had been added to illicit THC vaping liquids.
Smoking suspected of accelerating COVID-19 spread
SAN ANTONIO – If there is one thing you can do to prevent complications from COVID-19, it would be to stay away from smoking, doctors say. There is research currently underway to find out whether smokers with asymptomatic COVID-19 are secret super-spreaders of the virus. “We’re finding in multi-family housing units that seven in 10 African-American children are exposed to secondhand smoke, as well as a prominent nearly a quarter of Latino community are exposed to that secondhand smoke,” Svatek said. There is more inequity hidden in such living conditions Svatek said, with an estimated 15,269 housing units in San Antonio considered to be overcrowded. And it is not just in housing units that the high density and smoking are showing a spike in cases.
North Texas schools cracking down on vaping, 5,041 discipline incidents reported in 2019
Struggling to keep up with the rise in teen vaping, North Texas schools are fighting back with more tools and harsher discipline. According to Texas Education Agency data from 130 schools districts in North Texas, last year schools reported suspending or expelling students 5,041 times for vaping or using other tobacco products. This is a dramatic rise from the 1,077 times North Texas schools reported punishing students for vaping two years prior in 2017. Vape debate: Are e-cigarettes wiping out teen smoking? Tonight at 10 p.m., investigative reporter Brian New and the CBS 11 I-Team take a look at what North Texas schools are doing to combat vaping on campuses and why some students says it’s not enough.
NEISD expels more than 40 students after discovering they were vaping THC
SAN ANTONIO – The North East Independent School District is confronting the rise in vaping. “I definitely think it is an issue, still,” said Kathy Johnson, a counselor at Winston Churchill High School. Johnson said the district has been taking several steps to address the vaping issue, including speaking to students in the classroom. On Friday, students at Bradley Elementary School heard from Winston Churchill High School students. The high school students are part of the Winners Circle, a group that promotes a healthy and drug-free lifestyle.