Glancing over in class, you see vapor emerge from someone’s mouth, and what appears to be a cigarette in his hand. However, it’s actually an electronic cigarette, and the use of it is becoming a problem during the school day.

While it seems it’s common knowledge not to smoke in school, there are currently discrepancies in the school policy when it comes to e-cigarettes. Although tobacco is prohibited, there is currently not a policy banning nicotine. However, shortly after beginning our story on the issue, administration has requested that the school board approve a policy change for next year, banning e-cigarettes from school.

This quick reaction is exactly the step the administration needed to make, as we believe the ban is the best course of action for our school in order to prevent e-cigarettes from becoming a larger distraction.

This issue is not confined to only our school, though. As of July of 2012, e-cigarettes are illegal for those under 18 years old in the state of Kansas. But according to our survey, 30 percent of students had no idea this was the case. This lack of knowledge is largely due to the fact that e-cigarettes are not widely acknowledged by adults and educators in our society as a problem for teenagers.

In addition to the legality of e-cigarettes, emphasis should be placed on the health aspect. While e-cigarettes can be used to help smokers wean themselves off smoking tobacco cigarettes, many students are using them to look cool. It appears that students fail to understand that there are indeed health risks, such as continued nicotine addiction.

When it comes down to it, e-cigarettes are recognized as a good method to quit smoking, if used correctly. But using e-cigarettes to be rebellious in front of friends and classmates doesn’t make you look cool; it will only leave you sucking on a metal tube. Students must recognize that there is no cigarette or drug that is “good for you,” regardless of advertisements. Kudos to the administration for catching onto the increased illegal use of e-cigarettes. With a better understanding of e-cigarettes and a modified policy in place, we will now be able to focus solely on enforcing this policy.