There is a new trend among teens. Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say among high schoolers, the number of students smoking or vaping e-cigarettes tripled in just one year. One mother is upset after her 14-year-old son’s school confiscated his e-cigarette.
Mason Dunn, who has a 10-a-day habit, was caught vaping at Kearsley Academy in Bolton where there is a strict non-smoking policy. His mother Sue Dunn says he was using the device in an attempt to kick the habit, which began after his father died when Mason was 12. The family bought him the electronic cigarette last year to reduce his smoking and hoped he would eventually quit.
But the school takes another position. According to local reports, the school believes it is in their best interest to discourage all students from smoking.
Sue Dunn said, “I am not happy about the fact that he smokes in the first place, but we have tried everything to help him stop. We have tried patches and have been to the doctor, but nothing worked, so my eldest son bought him an e-cigarette, and it helped him quit smoking cigarettes. He has really made an effort.”
IMAGE SOURCE: MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS
After going to the school to explain, the mother was informed that smoking was against school policy.
Strange enough, the e-cigs have helped Mason. According to his mother, at the start of the summer holidays he hadn’t smoked any cigarette. Now because the school has taken away his e-cig, he is back to smoking.
Mason said, “It feels like the school don’t want me to stop smoking. It is really hard and I don’t know what to do next.”
Battery-powered e-cigarettes are an alternative way of consuming nicotine, without inhaling harmful chemicals such as tar and carbon monoxide. The e-cigarette converts liquid nicotine into a mist that the smoker inhales.
Suzanne Pountain, the principal of the school, said, “Kearsley Academy is a non-smoking site. We have a duty of care to our students to reinforce this and discourage them from doing so.”
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