You may have seen some posters about smoking around school; it is because the school is trying to raise awareness.

“(Smoking) affects youth more than it does adults because the brain is not done growing, it does not stop until (you’re) 25,” said School Nurse Sandy Dornfeld.

She adds the fact that e-cig flavors are often sweet which is designed to attract, flavors such as strawberry, mango and things of that nature.

“E-cigarette vapor can contain substances that are addictive and can cause lung disease, heart disease, and cancer. It is important to know that most e-cigarettes contain nicotine. There is evidence that nicotine harms the brain development of teenagers,” says www.cancer.org.

According to www.tobaccofreekids.org, 7.7% of high school students in Oregon smoke. Of that 7.7%, 12.9% use e-cigs, such as Juul.   According to ballotpedia.org there are 587,564 students enrolled in public schools in Oregon as of 2013 (k-12). There is approximately 180,000 students in high school. According to the statistic about 14,000 students smoke.

The number of teenage smokers is going up and doesn’t seem to be going on a decline anytime soon.