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HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Lamar High School student Lucas Burton said he had one thing on his mind this week ahead of the winter break.
“I was just focused on my finals to be honest,” Burton said as he left campus Monday.
It was the same day Houston Independent School District kicked off an anti-vaping week, and said campus staff would be sharing an anti-vaping video PSA with students to “start the conversation about prevention and awareness.”
When 13 Investigates’ Ted Oberg asked Burton about the video, he said, “I didn’t see no video today … I didn’t even know until you told me just now.”
One HISD administrator said she didn’t know why the district held Vaping Prevention Week the same time as finals, adding that students didn’t have time for the planned daily classroom exercises geared toward vaping prevention.
Still, HISD students said they’ve seen peers vaping in the bathroom at school, and it is an issue that needs to be addressed at all grade levels.
“Vaping is something that’s very, very common. You’d be surprised,” said Miriam Anyagafu, a DeBakey High senior who is active in the district’s anti-vaping efforts. “Not only a lot of high schoolers do it, a lot of middle schoolers are doing it, and unfortunately, there have been cases where elementary schoolers have started vaping. So it is very common, and that’s where we come into play.”