Electronic cigarettes have become a more discreet, and pop- ular way for cigarette smokers to act as if they were smoking any others, yet remain almost undetectable, especially in public lo- cations. However, three students were found with a total of four E-cigarettes at Plant, according to Principal Nelson.

As the products are recognized under the same offense as any other tobacco product, the devices were immediately seized from the students, following their confession to faculty members. Due to their availability to minors, e-cigarettes have become an in- creasingly popular medium for teenagers who normally don’t have access to nicotine products. They still have the same effects as those who take part in regular cigarette smoking. In response to this, Principal Robert Nelson and the rest of the administra- tion have begun to take action against the use of these products on school grounds. “They are not allowed by the county, they fall under the tobacco policy with the school district, so we will handle it like any other investigation pertaining to tobacco prod- ucts.” Nelson said. William Fine, teacher, adds, “You’re going to wind up in the office if I see you with them, and honestly it’s just a dumb decision to do it in the middle of the class.”

Since the e-cigarettes release water vapor as compared to smoke, teachers and other faculty members would only be able to detect the presence of an e-cigarette if they caught the student in the act of using the product. This creates a significantly increased opportunity for smokers to use the products in secluded places of the school campus, such as the bathrooms, and also confined spaces of a classroom.

Many people believe e-cigarettes are the gateway devices to using tobacco products. Sophomore Joe Rosenberger agrees “I don’t think it’s smart to use them since they would just give kids a better chance of smoking normal cigarettes later on,” he said. The county school board is currently meeting to discuss further treatment of this rising activity.