Seminole school leaders to ban E-cigarettes on campuses

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Seminole County school officials aren't waiting on state legislators to ban e-cigarettes at school.

The school district is making their own policy to prevent anyone from using them on school grounds. The school district doesn't allow anyone to use tobacco products on campus, but now they're expanding the policy to include electronic cigarettes.

A few high school students told WFTV that e-cigarettes are getting popular and parents may not know it.

"They don't get caught. I can tell you that, they sure don't. They know how to cover themselves pretty good," the students said.

The popular vapor e-cigarettes are sold just about everywhere. Less than a mile from a school in Sanford, a sign spinner was advertising the eletronic cigarettes.

Students, teachers, volunteers and even visitors will be prohibited from using the e-cigs on any school property or sponsored event.

"We just need to be very crystal clear when we are writing policy for both students and employees as to what is approved and what is not," Michael Lawrence with Seminole County schools said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ten percent of all high schoolers used e-cigs in 2012. The products on the market come in flavors that critics said are attractive to kids.

"Some kids do it for the fun cause they think it's cool, but it's not," one student said.

Other school districts in central Florida have similar bans on e-cigarettes. Orange, Osceola and Volusia counties recently modified their policies to specifically ban the electronic cigarettes. Brevard County officials said vapor cigarettes fall under their policy that bans tobacco. Lake County is the only school district still in the process of amending their rules.

WFTV