Greene County health officials warn of rising vape use among local students

GREENE CO., Ohio (WKEF) -- A warning Thursday from Greene County Public Health.

The department said one out of every 10 students nationwide vapes, despite knowing it’s dangerous and bad for them, and warns usage in Greene County is rising. Dayton 24/7 Now's Gwyneth Falloon spoke with the department and doctors about the dangers of using these products.

“Safer does not equal safe," warned Camille Edwards, the health education program manager with GCPH.

A reminder from Edwards and GCPH when it comes to vaping and tobacco use.

“We're seeing the vapes being collected in the schools and being confiscated," she said. “We go out and make sure that retailers are not selling to underage people. In 2024 only 62% of the retailers passed the compliance check, compared to 75% in 2023 so again, we're seeing more people selling to youth.”

Not only are they illegal for those under 21 to use, doctors said vaping is extremely dangerous.

“The function of the lungs is simply to get oxygen into the body and transport it into the blood. These things make that not happen efficiently," said Dr. Joseph Allen, regional medical director with Premier Health. “You're going to see some young people that are on things like oxygen, carrying around the oxygen tank or an oxygen concentrator, to have a higher prevalence of things like pneumonia.”

Dr. Allen warned these devices are just as bad as cigarettes, if not worse.

“Things like nicotine are still part of this, right? We have to be careful with that," he said. "You can also vape other substances, so you see a lot of THC and those other things that get in there as well.”

This is why experts encourage, and educate, teens and young adults to think twice before using.

“Think about where you want to be five years, 10 years from now," suggested Edwards. "Who do you want to be surrounding yourself with?”

“Peer pressure is there forever. It doesn't go away," advised Dr. Allen. "It's there as adults, and it'll cause you to make bad decisions as an adult, too, if you're not careful.”

This week’s warning comes less than a month after Governor Mike DeWine proposed a significant tax increase on tobacco-related products to cut usage by young Ohioans.

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