CHEATHAM COUNTY, Tenn (WTVF) — Vaping and E-Cigarettes is becoming a disturbing trend across the country for teens. One local school district is already looking at an increase use of the electronic tobacco products among its students in just one year.
Resource officers at Cheatham County schools who says this is a growing problem.
“I would say for everyone we catch, there's probably 10 more that are doing it that we're not catching,” said Sgt. Chris Gilmore.
Law enforcement says students are getting their hands-on e-cigarettes.
“This little box here is a representation of what we confiscated over the course of last school year,” Gilmore said.
Cheatham County Sheriff’s office says many of the students are becoming addicted to nicotine and he says they have the numbers to prove it.
“We had 65 citations issued this school year and that's in our high schools and our middle schools,” said Gilmore
That's up from just the 20 citations that were written last school year.
Students who are cited also face a $90 fine and a day in court.
The American Academy of Pediatrics says, last year 20 percent of high school students, and five percent of middle school students, used e-cigarettes; that is a 75 percent jump overall since 2017.
“It's not a safer alternative, and obviously it's become much more of a craze and we're doing things to appeal to children to make it look good,” said Gilmore.
If the high numbers of nicotine weren’t bad enough Gilmore also found that a student was vaping using THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.
“It actually contains according to the package says, it's 83 to 87 percent THC; it's something they can order online,” said Gilmore.
That student is now facing drug charges.
Gilmore says next week his planning a presentation for parents to show them the dangers and the problems of e-cigarettes.
