With the stress that modern life presents to the youth, it is no surprise that many have turned to controversial sources for relief. Throughout the Roaring Fork School District (RFSD), tobacco and vaping use in schools appear to be a large problem.
According to Joel Hathaway, executive director of schools at RFSD, there have been 24 recorded incidents of tobacco use or possession during the 2025-26 school year. These offenses include tobacco products such as vape pens that are used in school vehicles, during school activities or on school grounds across Roaring Fork schools.
Suzanne Fitzgerald, the principal at Bridges High School, an alternative high school in Carbondale, explains that vaping is quite a large problem at her school. She has both noticed the issue herself and had students self-report their use to her.
When asked about the main reason behind the influx of students vaping, Fitzgerald believes that students truly don’t understand the distress vapes are going to produce.
“It’s something that has been encouraged socially and encouraged among young, young people,” Fitzgerald said. “People truly don’t understand the long-term harm it’s causing.”
To confront this problem, Fitzgerald said that bathroom monitoring has increased, which has seemed to have reduced vaping in bathroom settings. However, Fitzgerald has heard from students that this may have pushed vaping to other areas where teachers are not present, such as in cars and in the parking lot.
After a student is caught vaping, the punishment for a first-time offense includes a notice to parents, the Second Chance educational resource and a conversation with a counselor. After a second offense, a student resource officer would be brought in.
Paul Freeman, principal of Glenwood Springs High School (GSHS), believes that nicotine use and vaping are not only a problem at GSHS, but a problem surrounding all schools. Issues in high school often parallel issues in society, Freeman said.
Throughout Freeman’s 47 years of teaching, he said that the issues of nicotine and tobacco use have neither increased nor decreased, and have only switched forms. When Freeman first started teaching, the main nicotine product students used was a cigarette. Compared to now, Freeman believes that though a minimal number of students continue to smoke, addiction has shifted towards vaping.
Concerning the reasons behind the large amounts of vaping among students, Freeman shares a similar belief to Fitzgerald that students lack the judgment to understand what they are risking when using nicotine products. Freeman also relays that many turn to these products as a way of coping with mental health problems, such as depression.
“I have no doubt that a vulnerable population of students are those who are susceptible to feeling depressed, or to feeling low,” Freeman said. “And those drugs that are available can make those feelings somewhat go away.”
Similar to Bridges, GSHS has also increased monitoring in areas where vaping is common, specifically in bathrooms, making vaping extremely inconvenient for students. Freeman also encourages educating students on the dangers of nicotine and vaping use. Though it is not what GSHS reaches for first, if a student needs more of a shock to their system, Freeman said that the student may be referred to law enforcement for using substances illegal for minors.
Across Bridges High School, Glenwood Springs High School and the whole Roaring Fork School District, Policy ADC: Tobacco and Nicotine Free Schools is enforced. If a student is caught vaping in school, they will face consequences such as in-school suspension.
Apart from that, online educational programs like Second Chance and the Truth Initiative are resources used to respond to vaping incidents and are utilized in schools such as Bridges and Glenwood Springs high schools.
Through Mountain Family Health Clinics, students are also able to connect with a substance counselor. Other resources that RFSD offers include socio-emotional curricula such as the Second Step, Why Try and Comprehensive Health Skills.
If students or staff desire to report an incident regarding vaping or other risky behaviors, Safe to Tell is an online resource that allows this reporting to be done anonymously. According to Hathaway, every report received is responded to. When appropriate, administrators collaborate with local law enforcement to ensure safety regarding the reports.