Parents take note. Health experts warn that teens' e-cigs are easily disguised as school supplies

Caption

In this 2018 photo, a high school student uses a vaping device near a school campus. In 2025, e-cigarettes marketed to high school students increasingly can appear like normal school supplies.

Credit: AP Photo/Steven Senne, File

As we enter the new school year, parents and teachers are being reminded that tobacco product use is still a problem, Brian King with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids said.

Dangerous tobacco products can be disguised, mirroring everyday objects like a highlighter, he said, and many offer flavors that appeal to children. 

Caption

In this photo from the Stanford Research into Tobacco Advertising project, a line of e-cigarette products closely resemble highlighter markers.

Credit: Stanford.edu

"We're at 25-year lows for all tobacco product used, and we've seen a 70% decline in e-cigarette use over the past five years alone," King said. "So that's the good news. But the bad news is we still have over 2 million kids using tobacco products, and 1.6 million of those are e-cigarettes."

King said that increasing price is the single most effective intervention to reduce tobacco consumption.

Smoke-free policies and health communication campaigns can be very effective in educating people about the risks, particularly when it when it comes to youth, he said.

Kate King, the immediate past president of the National Association of School Nurses, said that vaping is more subtle than traditional tobacco use.

One can easily smell cigarettes, but now a whiff of strawberry cheesecake or bubble gum could be tobacco products. These are vape e-cigarette flavors that are specifically targeted to draw kids into being addicted to these things, Kate King said.