Vaping on the rise in Yuma schools

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Vaping is a growing problem among teenagers, threatening students’ health and academic achievement.

More than one in every 10 high school students is vaping, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

And locally one Yuma Police Department school resource officer said it’s one of the many issues he faces on campus every day. 

“It’s probably a big problem at school honestly,” said high school student, Janessa.

Vaping is a growing epidemic among teens in high schools across the nation and in Yuma. 

I asked Janessa how many students on average would vape at school, and she said "Everyone!"

Cibola School Resource Officer Levi Jones shares his experience with the vaping epidemic. 

“On average maybe 50 a year at each high school. So here at Cibola where we have roughly 2,500 kids, that number of 50 isn’t a huge amount but that’s just the number of kids that we catch,” said Officer Levi Jones.

Officer Jones said they find more kids smoking marijuana vapes, than nicotine because of the smell.

However, both are used at the high schools. 

“They try to hide in the bathrooms because it’s a private area where they have an expectation of privacy, so we can’t just go kicking door stalls open to check if kids are vaping,” said Officer Jones

And one student said the bathrooms stink, and not from number two. 

“It just smells really bad like when you’re trying to go to the restroom and it smells like that, it’s horrible,” said high school student, Johnny.

Officer Jones said to combat the problem, security and staff do bathroom sweeps throughout the day. 

Another student said other teens need to realize the health issues vaping can cause. 

“You’re inhaling different things into your lungs, damaging your lungs and it can cause your breathing to be messed up, especially if you play sports,” said high school student, Anthony.

According to the U.S. Data from the 2022 National Youth Tobacco survey, more than two million young people reported using e-cigarettes, creating a growing problem among our youth.

“Kids are getting them from family members, brothers and sisters, older siblings friends, so it just comes down to parents educating the kids first of all, letting them know how dangerous this stuff is,” said Officer Jones.