COLUMBIA, S.C. — Since vaping among teens has made its way into the national spotlight, a group of students in the Midlands are fighting to protect fellow classmates.
In 2018, one of five high-schoolers admitted to using e-cigarettes in the past month, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Since then, administrators, students and parents have been trying to combat the vaping epidemic on school campuses by using new ideas.
These products are already banned at schools, but it’s becoming difficult to catch students who vape.
Students at Pelion High School are in a club called “LOCC,” the Lexington One Community Coalition. Students in this club work to prevent classmates from vaping and using other harmful substances.
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"Most of teenagers, especially in high school, do vape. It's more of a problem I think with the younger teenagers, and they think it's something so cool and all of them have started doing it," Braxton Brazell said.
Braxton Brazell is a junior at Pelion High School, who says about half his classmates use vape products every single day.
"I wanted to be a part of something that made kids aware of the dangers that it has on them and how it can affect their life and the lives of people around them," Brazell said.
Elisa McKinney is a senior in the club, and agrees with the statistic, saying that restrooms are “hot spots” for vaping.
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"Most of the time I go to the bathroom, there are always a couple of people walking out of one stall. And it's like, ok, I know what you were doing. But, it's pretty much in the bathroom," said McKinney.
John Reed is in his seventh year as a school resource officer at Lexington High School, and he says that vaping is on the rise.
"Two years ago, you could walk in a bathroom in a high school, and there would be several students standing around passing it around. Now, they are in stalls or go outside the building. There are kids we have interviewed that will walk into a restroom and inhale and won't exhale and will walk right back out," Reed said.
It’s also harder to catch, according to Reed.
"It's an epidemic across the country. You can buy smart watches that are vaping devices, you can buy hoodies that have straps that are a vaping device. So, the devices are getting smaller and smaller and harder to find."
Meanwhile, Luka Kinard travels the country and shares his story of recovery with students.
"It became my identity," Kinard said about vaping.
Kinard said he vaped for the first time when he was 14, and quickly became addicted.
"I had a seizure in 2018. The seizure, they couldn't rule it in that it was because of vaping, but they couldn't rule it out. We definitely believe it was linked to vaping," Kinard said.
He hopes that his story will help others choose not to vape, or to quit.
Others have not had the same experience.
Nurse Melanie Sox works at Pelion High School. She said that scares don’t always lead to wake-up calls.
"I've seen probably six kids come in with nausea, coughing and chest tightness which is all consistent with vaping," Sox said.
Kinard's mother hopes teens sharing their stories is a warning to parents.
"Even if your kids aren't doing it, it's your neighbors' kids, your brother's or sisters' kids ... it's someone you know,” said Kelly Kinard.
Heather Staples, a pediatric pulmonologist at Prisma Health Children’s Hospital says that not knowing what is in some of these products in the scariest part.
"We just don't know what kind of chemical or product it is that is triggering these lung injuries. So, we are seeing this association with THC-containing products but we still don't know if it's the THC itself or another chemical or byproduct that is in the pods,” said Staples.
When they see patients with lung injuries, symptoms can be as simple as a cough or shortness of breath and can get as bad as complete respiratory failure.
Experts say that exposing the adolescent brain to nicotine can disrupt attention, learning and memory.
State health officials say that children are more at risk for these harmful effects from use of e-cigarettes because the brain continues to develop until the age of 25.