Penn Yan Academy vaping numbers 'staggering'

Following a recent survey that showed 60 percent of Penn Yan Academy students have tried vaping, the school district has upped the punishment for kids caught vaping on school grounds.

“The statistics are pretty staggering,” Assistant Principal Warren Kinsey said. “That number is super high and we need to let kids know we are taking this seriously and want them to be safe.”

School district officials also point to a dramatic increase in the number of vaping-related deaths and illnesses reported across the country, including a 17-year-old from the Bronx who recently became New York’s first vaping-related fatality.

“Vaping has been in our code of conduct for the last couple of years, but the previous punishment was in-school suspension and really wasn’t deterring kids from vaping,” Kinsey said. “I’m not sure that when you have a nicotine addiction, anything stops you from vaping.”

Penn Yan Academy vaping numbers ‘staggering’