Since 2015, vaping found its way into public schools everywhere, starting a vaping epidemic that continues to this day. Students even as young as the middle school have even acquired vaping products. Now at long last, four school districts have had enough and are suing the company, alleging that the company targeted teenagers when it came to marketing and starting the epidemic. 

According to an article from the Washington Post, Whitney Meissner, a superintendent of La Conner School District north of Seattle, states, “We’re tired of companies who want to make money at children’s expense.”

The Post also included a government-funded survey stating that about 1 in 9 high school seniors have reported vaping on a near-daily basis. 

Hope for the prevention of student vaping is held high by Co-Principal Craig Johnson. When asked about his hopes, Johnson stated, “Yes, if this is, unfortunately, an example of risky behavior, teenagers do a lot of things, kids do a lot of things, that are really considered risky, and vaping is one of them and what I hope is that students consider all the risks of what vaping could potentially do to them.” Johnson has hopes for a Juul-less future where students can be educated on the risks and rewards of using nicotine devices. 

With Central Kitsap specifically coming into question, Johnson claims, “I hope that the idea of the lawsuit in general awareness of health will give students an opportunity to think about decisions of what they put into their body.” Spreading awareness is key and that is the hope for public schools in the future. 

NPR News states that the many Districts’ reasoning for the lawsuit is many students have been ill due to vaping related diseases and the situation has been brought to the Center for Disease Control’s attention as they have been increasing their warnings about the risks of vaping.

With vaping becoming somewhat of a social norm among students, the number of students has been increasing at an alarming rate. According to NPR, the number of youth smokers that have obtained and used any type of e-cigarette has increased from 2.1 million to 3.6 million, about a 50% increase from 2017 to 2018.

Spreading awareness of the many risks caused by e-cigarette products may help educate students on how to make these decisions. Many lawsuits have already been put into action, hopefully inspiring other school districts to join the fight,  with many more due to come as more and more students are afflicted by vaping. With more coming into play, the hope of a vape-less future is held higher than ever.