School districts from Sioux Falls to Spearfish are seeing more students vaping, inhaling from hand-held devices that turn nicotine gels into a vapor.
Vaping users get a dose of the addictive stimulant nicotine without the smoke or stigma of a cigarette. Vaping is legal for adults and can help people quit smoking. It’s illegal for people under 18, but even some middle-schoolers have been caught.
Researchers have found the dangerous chemical diacetyl in many vaping gels. Health agencies are worried about vaping by children whose brains are still developing. They say advertising for vaping targets youth.
Catching kids vaping got tougher recently when Juul sticks entered the market. The concealable devices fit in your palm, release less odor and vapor, and resemble a computer thumb drive.
With vaping now seen as cool and a status symbol among some youths – officials are fearful kids will become addicted to nicotine and may eventually begin smoking cigarettes.
(South Dakota News Watch)