Vaping among young people is believed to have grown to epidemic proportions both in Oregon and the U.S. It’s even entered Wallowa County — a bit.

Vaping — the use of e-cigarettes as an alternative to regular smoking — does not involve burning anything. E-cigarettes feature a replaceable inhaler cartridge containing vegetable glycerin and/or polyethylene glycol, flavoring and nicotine, according to the LiveScience website. With every inhalation, a sensor triggers a vaporizer to heat a small amount of liquid flavoring. The liquid turns to vapor and is drawn into the user’s mouth.

But it’s not necessarily a safer alternative to smoking.

“It took 20 to 30 years to get the studies out that tobacco could kill you,” said David Howe, principal at Wallowa High School. When it comes to studying vaping, “They’re only a few years into it.”

Wallowa County Sheriff Steve Rogers agreed.

“I think (kids) don’t know how bad it is for them and how it can hurt you,” he said.

County schools and law enforcement officials are trying to be proactive in dealing with vaping among youths.

On Friday, March 6, Mandy Decker, director of juvenile services for Wallowa County, gave a presentation at Enterprise School for several teachers and staff primarily concerning the vaping paraphernalia that is out there now used to conceal its true purpose. Her presentation was based on what she learned during a presentation in December in Boise, Idaho.

She also discussed with the school staff the possibility of recruiting high school students as “ambassadors” to attend a training session in July so they would be equipped to discourage their peers and younger students from vaping or other substance abuse.

Decker said Friday that although the youth vaping problem is growing, it doesn’t seem to be very widespread in Wallowa County.

“We’re not seeing it all the time, but obviously it’s here,” Decker said.

She estimated that only about 3% of students are using something illegal, and that’s more in the teenage range. With younger kids, she guessed, it’s only about 1%.

“They are starting younger,” she said.

Since 2018, it’s been illegal in Oregon for anyone younger than 21 to use, possess or purchase e-cigarettes or accompanying paraphernalia.

An offense is considered a “violation” — a less-serious crime than a misdemeanor for which the violator is cited and pays a fine, much like a traffic ticket. An Oregon government website said the fines range from $10 for the first offense to $750 for the third offense.

However, middle and high school students continue to use e-cigarettes and vapes at concerning rates, according to The Real Cost website. The site stated that exposing one’s brain to nicotine as a teen makes it more likely to start smoking tobacco as an adult.

There have been a few incidents where authorities in Wallowa County were alerted to youths vaping in the past year.

Rogers said the sheriff’s office was called late last year to Joseph Charter School and a youth was cited. Howe wouldn’t confirm or deny any reports of Wallowa students being caught vaping. Enterprise Police Chief Joel Fish recalled an incident at the Enterprise School where someone was reported vaping during a game. He didn’t recall if anyone was caught or a citation was issued.

“It’s hard to tell if they’re doing it,” Fish said. “They have hoodies with strings kids may have in their mouths (to disguise vaping) so you can’t really tell sometimes.”

Fish agreed with Decker and Rogers about the difficulty in detecting vaping paraphernalia.

“It’s almost impossible to tell,” he said. “They have made so many things into vaping devices you don’t even know what they’re doing.”

While acknowledging that vaping has come to Enterprise, the chief doesn’t see it as having become a huge problem.

In Fish’s experience, illegal vaping does not seem to be a big problem in Enterprise.

“I’m sure somebody’s doing it, but I haven’t seen it,” he said.

Wallowa Schools Superintendent Jay Hummel, while acknowledging a vaping problem exists, does not believe it has reached his district in a major way.

“But I think it’s an adolescent problem similar to smoking, similar to drinking and similar to reckless behaviors that teenagers are going to find attractive,” Hummel said.

Enterprise School Superintendent Erika Pinkerton agreed, saying there haven’t been any incidents this school year.

“I’m guessing it’s here, but we don’t seem to have a recurring problem,” she said. “Maybe the kids are getting smarter and learning how to hide it better.”

She believes the community can be of help by limiting — or eliminating — advertising of vaping products and choosing to display them in stores in less visible places.

At Joseph Charter School, high school Principal Sherri Kilgore said the school has gone beyond advising students.

“It’s a big enough problem we bought and installed vaping detectors in the bathrooms and locker rooms,” she said. “Those tend to be the places kids go to vape. We already have cameras down all the hallways. … They work, they definitely work.”

She said some students were caught vaping during a wrestling match in January, but they were not Joseph students and their coach was notified.

Her school, too, has made use of Decker’s juvenile services department and other community members to educate kids on the perils of vaping. She doesn’t believe it’s reached epidemic proportions at Joseph. But she admits she could be wrong.

“Problem is the kids are very sneaky,” she said. “I think it’s a bigger problem than we see.”