Mount Pleasant Magazine Sept/Oct 2019

35 www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.BestOfMP.com | www.ReadMPM.com feature “E veryone vapes in school.” If your teenager has ever said this to you, it’s not an exaggeration. Vaping is a serious problem among our youth. According to the Office of the U.S. General Surgeon, e-cigarette use is higher among high school students than adults. The solution: education and parental involvement. “Don’t ever assume that your child is the one who won’t vape.” If only one statement resonates with you from this article, let it be those words from Dr. Colleen Boylston at Sweetgrass Pediatrics. As a mother of a teenager, she acknowledges how hard it is to parent children of this age, but turning a blind eye is not the solution. “We have seen a notable increase in teen use of all types of e-cigarette devices,” she said. “With that comes a whole spectrum of problems from parents finding the device and not knowing what they are seeing to addiction, even school expulsions.” Dr. Lauren Lucas at Coastal Pediatrics concurred, “One 2018 national study indicated that over one-third of high school teenagers had vaped in the past 12 months. However, I recently asked one of my Mount Pleasant patients what the prevalence was among his peers, and he estimated eight out of 10 boys in high school vape.” As a member of the District 2 Constituent School Board, I can also testify to the astounding number of vaping offenses by Mount Pleasant students. What might be more shocking, though, is the age of some of these offenders. “We have seen students as young as 12 and 13 who admit to using e-cigarettes,” said Linda S. Allen, M.A., prevention and intervention coordinator, and ADAPT coordinator for the Department of Alternative Programs and Services (DAP) for the Charleston County School BY PAMELA JOUAN Our Teens Are Vaping