Some Schools Respond to Vaping with Treatment Instead of Punishment

Some schools are beginning to rethink their response to students’ e-cigarette use, emphasizing prevention and treatment over punishment, the Associated Press reports.

One school district that has begun emphasizing prevention and treatment is the Conejo Valley Unified School District in Southern California. It recently stopped suspending students for a first vaping offense. Instead, students are sent to a four-hour Saturday class on the marketing and health dangers of vaping. For a second offense, students receive a one- or two-day suspension, combined with several weeks of a more intensive counseling program that includes parents.

Atherton High School in Louisville, Kentucky has begun an intensive anti-vaping education program this year with the help of the American Association of Pediatrics. Teens learn about how e-cigarette companies have been marketing flavored products to them. It seems to be having an effect, said the school’s principal, Thomas Aberli. “You could tell how angry they were getting with this sense of manipulation,” he said.