Watertown health officials worried about rates of students vaping
One in four youth in Watertown have recently used an e-cigarette, according to the results of a 2017 Watertown Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
E-cigarettes use a battery to heat a flavored liquid that is inhaled. The liquid which produces an aerosol and a vapor is what is inhaled by users, therefore the process has been known as vaping.
“My hope is that the e-cigarettes is more of a fad and that it won’t necessarily catch on the way that tobacco did,” said Joe Lampman, coordinator of health and physical education for Watertown Public Schools.
Results of the 2017 survey show that roughly 25 percent Watertown High School students had used e-cigarettes within the last 30 days, compared with 6.24 percent students who said they used cigarettes in the last 30 days.
Despite this increase, Watertown has a stricter age restriction – 21 years old to buy any tobacco product – than other towns.