The increasing popularity of electronic cigarettes, more commonly known as “e-cigs”, among teens has resulted in a new emphasis of Metea’s drug tolerance policy this year.

Dean’s visited each English class throughout the first week of the semester to inform students of changes, throughout the school, and to re-emphasize current guidelines. The deans stressed the policy against the use of tobacco products on school grounds, including e-cigs, and the consequences that would result from violating them.“The policy is the same, but one of the things that has changed is it’s popularity,” said Dean Jennifer Rowe.

E-cigs have become increasingly popular over the past few years, primarily among teenagers and young adults. According to Center of Disease Control, the number of teens who had never smoked, but tried e-cigarettes, tripled from 2011 to 2013.

Several factors make e-cigs appealing to teenagers; the user is inhaling vapor rather than smoke and there are a variety of flavors available. “Lots of people think they’re a safer alternative to regular cigarettes because they don’t have as many chemicals,” said junior Alex Bosworth.

According to WebMD, the chemicals that make regular cigarettes notorious for it’s health risks are not found in e-cigs. However, it does contain nicotine, which causes addiction and corresponding withdrawal symptoms. “We could be creating new nicotine addicts,” said University of Pittsburgh professor Hilary Tindle to WebMD.

The growing use of e-cigs has transferred into the school environment, giving students more access to pick them up . “Unlike regular cigarettes, there’s not an odor,” said Dean Rowe. “It’s more accessible to use without being detected.”

“I don’t think teens are pressured to try e-cigs, but having them easy to get to within the school was probably contributing to the growing numbers,” said junior Sarah Idriss.

The dean’s approach in informing students this year is different from previous years. Administrators have previously shown a Mane video or present a teacher mini-lesson. “Because of its popularity, we wanted to make sure we spoke directly to the student’s about it,” said Dean Rowe.

By Alicia Diaz