Schools Administrators Say Teens Using E-Cigarettes Resembling School Supplies

A number of e-cigarette products closely resemble school supplies such as highlighters, USB drives and ballpoint pens, making them easy for teens to use in school, USA Today reports.

Vapes are also manufactured to look like smartphone cases and smartwatches, and even vaping backpacks and hoodies that conceal tubing and a mouthpiece so the wearer can inhale without being noticed, the article says.

“Some of these companies have gotten so creative in terms of how they disguise this, that’s not doing us any favors,” said Mo Canady, executive director of the National Association of School Resource Officers. “It’s very difficult to detect.”

A new study found that vaping CBD (cannibidiol) is on the rise among middle school and high school students. HealthDay reports the study found more than one in five students who use e-cigarettes said they had vaped CBD. The findings come from the 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey.

“The findings suggest that evidence-based educational campaigns, interventions, and public policy changes are needed to reduce the harmful health outcomes possible with vaping CBD among developing youths,” the researchers wrote.