At The Columbus School, the rising prevalence of student vaping has become a significant concern for the school community. Despite established policies prohibiting the use of e-cigarettes on campus, an increasing number of students continue to engage in the habit.

While vaping is often seen as a personal choice or social trend among students, its consequences extend far beyond the individual. At TCS students who vape regularly may experience decreased concentration, increased absenteeism, and heightened anxiety, all of which can interfere with learning and overall academic success.

 “Vaping is extremely addictive,” Maria Teresa Mejía, 12th-grade counselor, stated. 

According to Campus Safety Magazine (2023), 87% of teachers observe vaping as disruptive to the learning environment, finding associations between e-cigarette use and poor academic performance; on the other hand, teachers at school don’t note a relationship between these two variables.

“I don’t think it affects my class at all,” Bradford Stretton, high school math teacher, said.  

Students also seem not to notice an impact on their classmates’ learning abilities regarding vaping. 

“
I don’t think vaping directly impacts academic performance; it could, but I don’t think it really does.” Trinidad Dominguez, senior, explains. 

A study in 2025 published by the National Library of Medicine finds clear associations with vape use and academic achievement. The study found significant associations between e-cigarette use and poor academic achievement, including lower grades, increased stress, and decreased school engagement. 

 “Vaping makes people very anxious when they’re not consuming it. And anxiety has huge effects on concentration, on feeling okay…So I think it does have a lot of effects on performance because of the effect of what happens when you’re addicted to a substance, does to your body.” Mejía said. 

However, the effects of vaping are not limited to the classroom. Beyond academic struggles, students are also facing a range of physical health concerns linked to frequent vape use.

“
The effects that are being seen on the organism are concerning. People who vape develop a condition called epoch…it takes a lot of years to develop that disease, with vaping, in three, four, two years people are already having serious consequences.” Mejía said.

Parents show concern and are conscious about the issue a long time ago, it has been a consistent issue the last years. 

“Since my daughter is in 7th or 8th grade, I noticed that vaping started to be a problem,” Santiago Marín, 12th-grade parent, said. 

Staff members say that the issue has its complications and suggest that in next year new strategies are going to be implemented in order to diminish the number of cases. 

“We’re looking into getting alarms, vaping sensors in the bathroom that will give us a notice of when students are vaping in the bathroom. I think that will be very helpful,” Paul Navarra, TCS high school principal, explained. 

The school has taken a firm stance on vaping, recognizing its growing prevalence among students and the health and disciplinary concerns it raises. As a result, clear rules have been established to address the issue.

“
…there’s a ‘Falta grave’ And so every case is unique, however, the student has to go through the disciplinary process. Oftentimes they have to do some sort of reflective activity, learning more about the vaping and vaping industry. And obviously the parents are notified,” Navarra states. 

Transition: Despite the existence of clear rules regarding vaping, there remains a significant gap in awareness. Parents are either unaware of the policy or unclear about the consequences. 

“I wouldn’t be able to say, because I’m not very informed about the policies, and I also know that students create and look for places to be able to vape,” Marín said. 

This lack of information can make it difficult for them to properly identify and address incidents when they occur, contributing to the ongoing challenge of enforcing the rules effectively.

“I’ve taught students vaping, but I would be the wrong person to ask regarding policies,” Stretton said. 

Administration is aware of the existing gaps in awareness and enforcement, and has expressed a willingness to improve communication and strengthen efforts to ensure that everyone in the school community is informed and involved. 


“I think we can do a better job of that. I think oftentimes, you know, sometimes when we meet as, like, at the beginning of the year and the mid-year.” Navarra explains.  

Students, meanwhile, increase awareness of the consequences and of the impact vaping has on the environment and health with regular interventions by health education provided at school. 

“Well, I think we do it through our health education.  I think the issue is our students are well aware of the danger.” Navarra said. 

 Despite efforts to monitor and prevent vaping, identifying when and where it happens remains a major challenge for school staff.

“It’s very hard to catch, unfortunately.” Navarra said.

Beyond enforcement, the social dynamics among students also play a significant role in the prevalence of vaping.

“Yes, it’s very common for social pressure to come from wanting to belong to certain groups, whereas a challenge they ask others to try vaping,” Marín said. 

While peer pressure and health concerns are often highlighted, the deeper issue lies in the tactics used by vaping companies themselves. These industries intentionally design and market their products to appeal to young people.

“And so it’s not about necessarily educating students, it’s not about the dangers. 
It’s more about talking about the kids and about, like, do they realize they are the target of billion-dollar companies who are trying to get you addicted so that you will be a customer for life, because they’re old customers are dying,” Navarra said.