Orange County District 1 Commissioner Nicole Wilson has heard a variety of complaints from parents across the county regarding vape shops and their close proximity to schools.\u00a0<\/p>\n
An example of this would be SkyWalker Smoke Shop, a smoke and vape shop fewer than 500 feet away from Olympia High School\u2019s baseball field.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wilson said this proximity, combined with flavored products and sometimes a lack of age verification, are increasing the likelihood of teen vaping, impulse purchases and addiction.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe placement near schools for these smoke shops and retail outlets is not coincidental,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s very much a marketing tactic. \u2026 Vape retailers often locate near schools to maximize exposure to youth and utilize high-traffic areas to target students. If you are a businessperson who claims not to want to market to children, why are you using childlike names, Star Wars characters, bright colors? \u2026 It is a targeted marketing ploy, and it\u2019s successful.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 2.2 million students use tobacco in the United States, an alarming number to Wilson, parents and even teens.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, April 7, Wilson asked the Orange County Board of County Commissioners to research ways an amendment can be made to the Orange County Use Table that would prohibit smoke shops from opening 500 to 1,000 feet away from public schools.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As a result, she said, teens would be less exposed, decreasing the initiation rate of teenagers who smoke.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Board members were supportive of Wilson\u2019s suggestion and so were parents and teens.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Horizon High junior Gabriel Serrato said vaping has become normalized, casual and desensitized \u2014 so much so, he said it\u2019s not uncommon to see his peers vaping in the school\u2019s bathrooms, hallways and even classrooms.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He believes advertisement on storefronts, family members who smoke, peer pressure and mental health all are causes for this wide use.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTeens think vaping and alcoholism is a way to escape their mental-health problems,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a way to get away from everything they\u2019re going through in their life \u2014that might be school, that might be their family issues \u2014 and it\u2019s just something we need to emphasize, (because) it\u2019s only going to make It worse.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
With Wilson\u2019s initiative to look into buffer zones, Serrato hopes vape and tobacco products become harder to access, lowering the amount of teenagers who smoke.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not a miracle proposal, but it\u2019s a huge step in the right direction,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Horizon High junior Adi Subramanian said she\u2019s seen the negative effects of smoking on close friends. She hopes buffer zones can be implemented to stop students from going through a \u201clifetime of horrible addiction and a really bad spiral that\u2019s extremely difficult to get out of,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Subramanian said parents need to become educated on the effects of vaping to help prevent teenagers from trying it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe more we emphasize the impacts of doing drugs, doing vaping and drinking alcohol, the more we emphasize the negative impacts of that, the more educated everyone is and the more everyone stays abstinent,\u201d she said. \u201cStudents need to stay focused on their goals \u2026 and not let these distractions such as the vape shop influence them and influence their decisions, especially in partaking in drugs, vaping, alcoholism, all that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Evan Quiquia, junior at Windermere High, agrees.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of students don\u2019t even think about the risks (of smoking) because of how normalized it is between teenagers,\u201d he said. \u201cCreating these buffer zones and more regulations on it would create a safer environment at schools.\u201d<\/p>\n
His father, Ivan Quiquia, said he\u2019s concerned about the chemicals in vapes, and how long-term effects still are unknown. He hopes Orange County\u2019s research on the topic helps bring attention to the matter and helps teens stay away from smoking.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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