E-cigarette use high in teens

RICHMOND, Ky. (WTVQ) —  Vaping is an alternative, even flavorful way, of consuming nicotine rather than through a cigarette.

The FDA says e-cigarette use increased nearly 80-percent among high schoolers and almost 50-percent among middle schoolers since last year.

For Madison County Schools, Juuls are a big concern right now.

Officer Whitney Maupin, the SRO for the district, says just the other day he walked into a bathroom and confiscated a Juul from a student in there.

The district bans e-cigs on campus but Officer Maupin says that doesn’t stop students from bringing them in.

“You may look down the hall and see a puff of smoke but you can’t tell who it is because the halls are so crowded,” says Officer Maupin. “Well that’s another mode of going undetected.”

Juuls are packed with much more nicotine than other e-cigarettes and can’t be sold to minors, yet many use them.

A local vape shop owner thinks that’s because of accessibility.

“There’s probably a small portion of gas station stores, department stores that are selling to minors,” says Jellyfish Vape Lounge owner, Keoki Freitas. “And probably a few who slip through the cracks.”

The new FDA ban allows only mint and menthol flavored e-cigs to be sold at gas stations and other retail outlets.

The fruity flavors popular with minors can only be sold through merchants who can verify their age, such as vape shops.

But Freitas says these bans won’t keep them out of the hands of minors.

“You have seniors that are 18 years old and it’s again not outside the realm of possibility that you have 18 year olds going out to these shops buying on a weekly basis,” says Freitas. “I’ve seen it in previous locations I’ve worked at.”

The vape shop says it’s serious on educating who they sell to and in preventing underage purchases.