Some students say things that encourage others to vape and they are joined by 1.7 million other high-school students, according to CNN News. This new and upcoming trend has moved fast through middle and high schools, including Neuqua Valley. Many people do not understand the consequences of vaping.  According to WebMD, although vaping does not cause tar development in the lungs, it causes severe damage to the body.

E-Cigarettes have been found to cause popcorn lung: an incurable disease with symptoms of a dry cough, shortness of breath, wheezing, headache, fever and aches . This disease was discovered when popcorn factory workers developed these symptoms from working with a chemical called diacetyl. After this connection has been made, popcorn factories removed the chemicals. However, e-cigarettes have not; most of their flavors contain diacetyl, the chemical that causes this disease.

Neuqua Valley’s Dean Michael O’Toole explained that vaping is a concern for Neuqua students, because they may not realize and completely understand the long term problems that occur as a result. He believes many students vape because, “the barrier for entry is probably lower than it is for smoking or chewless tobacco.” This is due to the fact that it is easier to use an e-cigarette than smoke a cigarette or chew tobacco because using them requires experience.

“The biggest change from last year to this year would be the addition of a Naperville City Ordinance, where you can get a ticket and have to go to court and pay for possession of a vape — hopefully discouraging kids from vaping,” explains O’Toole. He hopes that vaping will be looked down upon and students will “escape the vape,” will think that it was “so 2018.”