Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1175948
funding from California's Tobacco Surtax Fund to edu- cate students about its dangers.) Mason prefers to call it "aerosoling" rather than vap- ing. He tells students it's like inhaling hair spray into your lungs, not water vapor. e San Leandro Teachers Association member is an adviser to junior "peer educa- tors" who spread the word about the harmful effects of vaping. rough TUPE, they have created public service announcements and PowerPoint presentations. "ey've gone into freshman classes to present, and I think they are making a difference," says Mason, a social studies teacher. e teens are also educating staff about vaping devices and what they look like, so educators can recognize telltale signs. ey visit other high schools to share strategies. "It's important that we do this, because the media t end s to n ormali z e vapin g," share s p e er edu cator Rosemary Che, who points out that pods inserted into vaping devices may have two or three times the nicotine level of one pack of cigarettes. "Some students say they vape to relieve stress, but there are better ways — such as power naps and meditation." Peer educator Patrick Campana became involved because his grandfather died from lung cancer related to smoking. Students rarely smoke cigarettes these days, he observes, but they are all about vaping. He explains to his fellow students that vaping can result in "popcorn lung," a life- threatening condition where the lungs' smallest airways become inflamed and damaged, causing coughing and shortness of breath. Mason is proud to be pushing back against what he sees as a vile and addictive habit that caught educators by surprise. "I really thought this would be the generation to beat tobacco. But they pulled the wool over everybody's eyes in a new generation." T e e n va p i n g s oa r s Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show a staggering 78 percent increase in high school youth vaping between 2017 and 2018. Vaping among America's teens continues to climb while the use of other substances, such as alcohol and opiates, has declined in recent years, according to "Monitoring the Future," a report from the University of Michigan. (A 2017 survey by the CDC found nearly 7 million adults 18 or older use e-cigarettes.) According to a December 2018 survey by California Healthline, U.S. teens are vaping in record numbers. More than one-third (37.3 percent) of 12th graders reported vaping at least once in the past month — up 10 percentage points from 2017. e number of teens who took up vaping increased when Juul, " I REALLY THOUGHT THIS WOULD BE THE GENERATION TO BEAT TOBACCO. BUT THEY PULLED THE WOOL OVER EVERYBODY'S EYES IN A NEW GENERATION." — Dave Mason, San Leandro Teachers Association Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 27 O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 019 MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS 4.9% HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS 20.8% 3.6 MILLION In 2018, more than U.S. middle and high school students used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days, including: THE 3.6 MILLION YOUTH WHO USED E-CIGARETTES IN 2018 WAS A STUNNING INCREASE FROM 2.1 MILLION WHO USED THEM IN 2017.