Vaping Trend Explodes At Schools Across The Country

Vaping is an exploding trend among American teenagers. While the makers of e-cigarettes tout them as a potentially safer alternative to tobacco products, critics worry the fad may lead to a new generation of nicotine addicts.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this show incorrectly described the creator of a YouTube video. The woman was 33 at the time the video was made, not a teenager.

Guests:

Kate Zernike, national correspondent for The New York Times, where she covers education, criminal justice and election. Her article on Tuesday was 'I Can't Stop': Schools Struggle With Vaping Explosion. (@kzernike)

Dr. Michael Siegel, physician and professor at the Boston University School of Public Health.

Reading List:

The New York Times: 'I Can't Stop': Schools Struggle With Vaping Explosion -- "E-cigarettes have been touted by their makers and some public health experts as devices to help adult smokers kick the habit. But school officials, struggling to control an explosion of vaping among high school and middle school students across the country, fear that the devices are creating a new generation of nicotine addicts."

NPR: Teenagers Embrace JUUL, Saying It's Discreet Enough To Vape In Class -- "Devices like these might be introducing a new generation of teenagers to nicotine addiction and leading some vapers to take up smoking tobacco cigarettes, a study out in Pediatrics on Monday suggests. That would buck a national trend of teens drifting away from certain risky behaviors like drugs, alcohol and unprotected sex."