Collier parents react to smoking trend found at high school

Collier County parents expressed their concerns over a trending item found at an area high school.

JUUL is an e-cigarette that allows the user to conceal smoking tobacco or marijuana.

Cindy Owens, a Naples resident and mother of two, said she didn’t think JUUL looked like a typical e-cigarette.

“I think it is a flash drive what you would load information from a computer like pictures,” Owens said.

Collier County Sheriff’s Office deputies found a student carrying JUUL along with marijuana oil Friday at Naples High School. Two other students were also found with similar devices used to vape marijuana.

“Yeah that is surprising but I could see how they could get away with having it,” Owens said.

E-cigarettes and vapor in high school students have increased by 410 percent, according to results from a Florida Youth Survey ranging from 2011 to 2015.

Collier County Public Schools said they’re aware JUUL and the new trend, but have deputies in school scouring for drugs as there is an enforced zero-tolerance drug policy.

The goal of JUUL is to provide adult smokers an alternative to traditional cigarettes, according to the makers of JUUL.