News Photo by Mike Gonzalez Students at Alpena High School depart campus for the day on Wednesday afternoon.

ALPENA — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed data from the 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey and estimated about 3.1 million — or 11.3% — of all U.S. middle and high school students use tobacco products.

The study reported 16.5%, or 2.5 million, of all high schoolers and 4.5%, or 530,000, of all middle schoolers use tobacco products.

It also reported electronic cigarettes, also known as vapes, as the most commonly used product among both middle and high school students.

Lee Fitzpatrick, Alpena Public Schools director of communications, said that, as a longtime educator, he has noticed vaping as the new evolution of youth smoking and that the misconception that electronic cigarettes are harmless boosted use.

“Kids need to understand, if you need a chemical to go through a school day, it’s not healthy,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s become especially bad because vape paraphernalia can deliver narcotics and they look just the same as the nicotine products.”

Fitzpatrick said students may bring a nicotine product or potentially another product that carries THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana, or other chemicals.

In previous years, Fitzpatrick said there were misconceptions about vaping and how it is harmless to inhale.

In January 2018, the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine released a consensus study that reported e-cigarettes can cause lung disease and heart disease.

To deter students from vaping, APS recently installed vape detection devices, which Fitzpatrick said go off a lot.

“The detectors are also able to detect other dangerous things,” Fitzpatrick said. “They can detect smoke, heat, gas levels, and harmful chemicals in the air.”

Fitzpatrick did not have data on local use, but said APS has hosted speakers to talk about the dangers of vaping, worked with Partners in Prevention, a local organization that offers training and resources to prevent substance use, and held other events to help stop the spread of youth tobacco use.

“It’s hard to prevent this when it’s become so standard,” Fitzpatrick said. “They’re all around and it’s common to look at a stopped car and see a huge vape cloud in there.”

Mike Gonzalez covers health care and the environment. He can be reached at 989-358-5687 or mgonzalez@TheAlpenaNews.com.