With reports of students using vape pens in bathrooms and hallways rising, many fear the impact this practice could have on themselves and their peers. In Hampton schools, vaping has become commonplace, and teens are being exposed to the trend at younger and younger ages.
Despite widespread information about its dangers, vaping has become a normalized habit among pre-teens and teens in Hampton. Many students either fail to recognize the dangers or simply ignore the repeated warnings about the hazards and health risks associated with vaping.
“[Vaping and teens] go together like peanut butter and jelly,” one anonymous student remarked. “For real, it’s just like, we just… kind of do it. I don’t know why.”
Vaping is popular among a surprisingly wide spectrum of today’s students. It could be anyone: a star athlete, a straight-A student, or someone random who’s blowing flavored clouds while in the bathroom.
“I think it’s really poisonous,” Earthlum Williams, a senior, stated. “It’s seriously ruining this generation.”
According to the CDC, 1.21 million high school students used e-cigarettes in 2024. While there are many reasons why some start, the most common reasons include the desire to fit in due to peer pressure or to calm anxiety and depression. Even more terrifying, some students start smoking as early as middle school.
“I think I took my first hit of something when I was 11,” one anonymous student said. “…I really didn’t start smoking [regularly] until I was 13. Just little hits here and there throughout the years until I got to 13.”
From a fairly young age, students begin encountering vaping through advertisements and the media. In 2021, the Truth Initiative reported, “more than 75% of middle and high school students reported exposure to marketing or advertising of any nicotine or tobacco product.”
More surprising than this though is the fact that many youths are seemingly aware of the dangers posed by the nicotine and metals vape pens contain.
“They know there’s nicotine there; they just know it makes them feel good,” Noah Castillo, a senior, observed. “That’s why they do it… they get that dopamine boost and they’re a little bit happy for a little bit, and after that goes away, they do it again.”
For some of those who vape, smoking has become an addiction. Underage users understand the health risks associated with e-cigarettes, but they are hooked.
“I’ve tried to stop, but the addiction is just… like you think you can stop, but the addiction takes over,” an anonymous student stated.
The risks of vaping are plenty, from addiction to lung damage and exposure to cancer-causing ingredients. Compounding this, more and more teens are vaping cannabis and products containing THC.
One student admitted vaping causes them shortness of breath, stating “It’s hard to breathe a lot of times, especially if I’m running & for others they find it annoying.”
Other teens admit to feeling a mix of effects and are concerned by the increasing danger of sharing a vape with a friend, especially when they do not know what the vape contains.
“[I’ve] definitely gotten lazier,” another student admitted. “But school wise, it hasn’t really changed my grades. They’ve always been good.”
What’s most concerning is how these underage students are obtaining vape products. Some get them from older siblings or parents. In a survey of 284 Bethel High School students, 65% said they knew at least one relative who smoked or vaped.
“I mean I’ve seen people my age [and] way younger using this stuff,” one anonymous student stated. “ Honestly, it’s just because their parents give it to them.”
Hampton students take advantage of the lack of age-verification on online sites, and, of course, they acquire vapes from other students who sell them to their peers. Some even purchase vapes from local stores, which are required by law to ID.
“There’s shops around the area that ID, and some don’t,” one anonymous student revealed. “Teens who are smart go to the ones who don’t..and get ‘em [vape products] from there.”
“We’ve had students that tell us they’ve gotten people to go purchase them for them,” Bethel Principal Travis Oliver stated. “They’ve been able to purchase them themselves at certain locations, order them online and have them delivered to their homes. Unfortunately, a lot of the access to them isn’t regulated the way it should.”
The survey of students at Bethel High School reveals Hampton youth are conflicted about vaping. Over 71% of the student respondents indicated they dislike vaping, including those who vape themselves.
While admin and staff can confiscate devices when they find teens with them at school, the best way to stop vaping is prevention. Many preteens and teens vape to fit in with others, so it’s up to students to hold each other accountable.
“Teens probably shouldn’t vape,” Talysse Matthews, a junior, stated. “If you’ve seen what it does to lungs, especially at a young age, it’s very addictive, so it is a stupid thing to be addicted to…it’s [just] flavored smoke.
