Ķvlog

Student Well-Being & Movement

Vaping Is Still a Big Problem, New Data Show. Here’s What Schools Can Do About It

By Arianna Prothero — October 06, 2022 3 min read
A Juul electronic cigarette starter kit at a smoke shop in New York on Dec. 20, 2018. In a deal announced Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022, electronic cigarette maker Juul Labs will pay nearly $440 million to settle a two-year investigation by 33 states into the marketing of its high-nicotine vaping products, which have long been blamed for sparking a national surge in teen vaping.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

More than one of every 10 high school students is vaping, according to .

While e-cigarette usage appears to be down from its pre-pandemic peak—when about 6 million middle and high school students reported vaping, compared with 2.6 million now—it’s impossible to say for certain if that is the case. The National Youth Tobacco Survey has changed how it collects data in recent years, so the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, which helps analyze and publish the data, cautions against making comparisons with previous years.

Educators, however, may draw some comfort from the apparent slowdown in vaping, which was driving schools to become increasingly creative and desperate in combating the habit, from installing vapor-detecting devices in bathrooms to creating e-cigarette buy-back programs to suing e-cigarette makers. In addition to coming in tasty flavors and being easy to hide from adults, many adolescents may not know that e-cigarettes are bad for their health or even that they contain nicotine—although .

Prior to the pandemic, vaping among adolescents had been accelerating, with about 20 percent of high schoolers and 5 percent of middle schoolers reporting e-cigarette use in 2019 and 2020.

Those numbers dropped to 11 percent and 2.8 percent respectively in 2021, when the survey was conducted fully online for the first time to include students learning from home. Up until 2018, students took the survey using pencil and paper in school. In 2019 and 2020 they used tablets. The National Youth Tobacco Survey used a web-based survey in 2021 and 2022, with half of students taking it in school in 2021 and nearly all taking it from school in spring 2022.

This year, 14 percent of high school students and 3 percent of middle school students report that they had vaped in the past 30 days. Among those students, 42 percent said they were vaping frequently (meaning 20 of the last 30 days) and nearly 28 percent saying they were using e-cigarettes daily.

Flavored e-cigarettes are very popular with adolescents who vape—85 percent use flavored e-cigarettes. The most popular flavors are fruit; candy, desserts or other sweets; mint; and menthol.

What can schools do to stop kids from vaping?

Vaping has proven to be especially difficult for Ķvlog to police as it’s relatively easy for students to hide.

See also

Vaporizer pens and other sleek electronic devices convert nicotine-infused liquids to water vapor that can be inhaled.
Vaporizer pens and other sleek electronic devices convert nicotine-infused liquids to water vapor that can be inhaled.
KSTU-TV

Other than suing e-cigarette makers (which several districts have done), schools can take several steps to curb vaping among their students, according to advice that experts and school leaders have shared with Education Week. Those recommendations include:

  • Have clear policies and plans. Schools should have clear and well-communicated policies about the consequences for vaping on campuses. Schools should also have plans for screening students who are addicted to e-cigarettes and getting appropriate help for those students who are.
  • Try to avoid the use of scare tactics or discipline. These approaches won’t work without an education component. Students tune out when they hear them.
  • Design an educational approach. This should be broader than just educating students on the dangers of vaping (which surveys show many adolescents don’t know about). It should also employ elements of media literacy in which students are taught to see how advertising campaigns are trying to manipulate them in unhealthy ways.
  • Include adults in anti-vaping efforts in meaningful ways. Focusing only on the kids and not involving parents, caregivers, teachers, principals, coaches, and even after-school providers will fail to have a meaningful impact on curbing vaping use among adolescents.

While e-cigarettes may not be as unhealthy as traditional, “combustible” cigarettes, they still have many toxic chemicals and metals in them. They also often have higher concentrations of nicotine than traditional cigarettes and present a hazard to young, developing brains.

Experts don’t know what the long-term effects of e-cigarette use is because the devices haven’t been around long enough, unlike the vast amount of evidence showing that traditional tobacco products have serious, long-term consequences on people’s health. And many teens who start vaping soon .

Related Tags:

Events

Classroom Technology Live Online Discussion A Seat at the Table: The Rewiring of Childhood With Jonathan Haidt
Jonathan Haidt, Catherine Price, and Adam Swinyard join Peter DeWitt on how to get students off devices and back to the basics of childhood.
Professional Development K-12 Essentials Forum Getting Professional Development to Stick
Join this free virtual event to explore best practices, funding, format, and timing for teacher and principal PD.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
College & Workforce Readiness Webinar
The Road to Opportunity: Making CTE Accessible for All
The most valuable CTE happens off campus. For too many students, transportation is the barrier that keeps opportunity out of reach.
Content provided by HopSkipDrive

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Student Well-Being & Movement Inside a School Where Creative Writing Helps Teens Cope With Trauma
Students in a class taught by Emily Torres have significant trauma, mental health challenges, or both.
15 min read
121225 Spokane KD 58
Emily Torres teaches a creative writing class at Joel E. Ferris High School in Spokane, Wash., on Dec. 4, 2025. All the students in the class have experienced significant trauma, mental health challenges, or both.
Kaylee Domzalski/Education Week
Student Well-Being & Movement U.K. Bans Under-16s From Using Social Media Apps, Including TikTok and YouTube
The plan drew a mixed reaction, with some questioning the effectiveness of the prohibition.
5 min read
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer leads a press conference to announce government action to protect children online, at Downing Street in central London, on June 15, 2026.
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer leads a news conference at Downing Street on June 15, 2026 to announce government restrictions on social media.
Carlos Jasso/Pool Photo via AP/AP
Student Well-Being & Movement Annunciation School Teachers Look Back on a Year That Started With a Shooting
Since August, teachers have navigated raw and unpredictable grief—the children’s and their own.
Reid Forgrave, The Minnesota Star Tribune
11 min read
Teachers talk during lunch in the teacher’s lounge at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Tuesday, May 5, 2026. ] LEILA NAVIDI • leila.navidi@startribune.com
Teachers talk during lunch in the teacher’s lounge at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis on May 5, 2026. Teachers here have spent the nine months since last August’s mass shooting trying to create normalcy in a school year that’s been anything but normal.
Leila Navidi/Star Tribune via TNS
Student Well-Being & Movement The Immigration Crackdown Ended Months Ago. Trauma Remains for These Kids
Operation Metro Surge left an imprint on young children that could haunt them for years, experts say.
5 min read
Shane Jackson, left, pets Sage, a therapy dog, while chatting with Sage's owner, Linda Buchs-Hammonds, at Valley View Elementary School on April 29, 2026, in Columbia Heights, Minn.
Shane Jackson, left, pets Sage, a therapy dog, while chatting with Sage's owner, Linda Buchs-Hammonds, at Valley View Elementary School on April 29, 2026, in Columbia Heights, Minn. The suburban Minneapolis district continues to deal with students' trauma months after the Trump administration's immigration enforcement surge in the area.
Ellen Schmidt/MinnPost via AP