Schools Start Treating E-Cigarettes as Drug Paraphernalia

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Some schools are getting tougher on e-cigarettes, even punishing possession of the devices more harshly than regular cigarettes.

The devices, which heat a nicotine solution to create a vapor instead of burning tobacco, have passed traditional smokes in popularity among teenagers. Schools are clamping down because e-cigarettes, sometimes also known as vaporizers, can also be used for illegal substances like marijuana.

Most schools have folded e-cigarettes into their anti-tobacco policies, which typically punish students with detention, a letter home and sometimes a tobacco education class.

But other schools in states including North Carolina, New Jersey, Washington and Connecticut, are grouping the devices in with bongs and pipes, meaning students could face long suspensions and required drug tests and have possession of drug paraphernalia marked on their school record.

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