TYLER, Texas — With students returning back to school this week, a nonprofit is urging parents to look out for signs of teen vaping and substance abuse as it continues to be a prevalent issue in East Texas.
Joseph Byrum is the director of prevention programs at Next Step Community Solutions.
Byrum said schools can be a central hub for substance use.
"A lot of times, you'll have a student who maybe doesn't have a parent who watches them too closely, and they get access to a lot of vapes and then they'll come to school, and sell those vapes to other students," Byrum said.
Next Step Community Solutions is an East Texas nonprofit committed to substance use prevention by educating parents and school staff on the signs and symptoms.
"Do they (teens) have like a fruity-like scent to them after coming out of the bathroom, that could be a telltale sign," Byrum said.
According to Byrum, vaping is still a significant issue in East Texas.
"It's definitely the number one issue that we're coming across," he said. "The most recent data we have from Texas A&M says about 13% of high school students in East Texas have used in the last 30 days, and almost one in three have used ever."
Byrum said that's about a 50 percent increase from 2016 to 2020.
"We see a lot of this uptick with the pandemic," he said. " A lot of kids were still kind of staying at home and maybe could get into things they should've have."
It's not just vaping. Any form of substance abuse can impact students academically.
According to the American Addiction Center, high school students that abuse drugs and/or alcohol tend to have lower grades, have higher rates of missing class and are more likely to drop out of school.
Byrum said it's great to see schools cracking down on these issues, but he wants them to understand that any form of substance abuse is an addiction.
"Focus on the health and safety of the students as just opposed to the discipline," he said. "We want them to realize that this is a health issue with these students."
He said Next Step Community Solutions wants to encourage parents and schools to provide facts to those students caught.
For parents that suspect or know their teen is vaping, drinking or doing drugs, Byrum said it's important to be their biggest support system.
"A lot of parents don't realize that they are the number one reason why their their kid does or doesn't use substance," he said.
Byrum encourages parents to talk with their children.
"You could even roleplay resistance skills, what are you going to do if someone wants to sell you a vape? What's a way that you can say no," asked Byrum.
He said parents should get to the root cause of why their teen is using substances and then shift them to healthier coping skills, such as mental health services, hobbies, music and sports.