LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Vaping has quickly become a controversial topic, with seven deaths reported in the U.S. Now school officials in Bullitt County are trying to prevent students from picking up the habit.
Stephanie McGarry is the Drug-Free Schools grant coordinator for the Bullitt County Public School system. She knows from firsthand experience that students start vaping at an early age.Â
"We are seeing it at the bus stop," she said. "We are seeing it with students on the bus sharing it with others, so this is something that everyone around us is experiencing, and we are trying to get ahead of that."
As vaping continues to grow in popularity, more students are trying it. Wednesday night the district posted a vaping fact sheet on its Facebook page.
Pictured: a fact sheet posted on the Bullitt County Public Schools Facebook page that contains information about the possible harmful effects of vaping.Â
According to the information on the sheet, between 2017 and 2018 the number of high school students using e-cigarettes increased by more than 75 percent.Â
While the district is thrilled students aren't smoking regular cigarettes, McGarry says that's an alarming statistic, and there are still questions about whether e-cigarettes are any safer than traditional cigarettes.Â
"Each pod specifically for a Juul is equal to a pack of cigarettes, and kids aren't making relation to that tiny pod to smoking a full pack of cigarettes."
Thanks to funding from a grant, McGarry has been able to visit each school in the district to present the "Catch My Breath" program and educate middle and high school students on the effects of vaping.
As part of the program, students are given the opportunity and time to do their own research in order to understand the harmful effects.
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