Students and parents were left highly concerned after what officials described as a "stampede" took place at a middle school dance in Georgia on Saturday. While rumors spread quickly that someone had brought a gun to the dance, it turned out that the incident was caused by students attempting to conceal a vaping device, WSB-TV reported. 

What's happening?

The incident began when students tried to hide a mysterious object and quickly escalated, leading to fear and confusion. First, parents serving as chaperones spotted a student behaving suspiciously.

"When they tried to stop the student, the student ran, ran over to another student and stuffed something in the hoodie pocket of another kid," explained Ashley Henson, the Paulding County Sheriff, per WSB-TV Atlanta. "At that point, those two kids ran, and the deputy gave chase."

"And so those kids ended up running, you know, up and out of the building," Henson continued. "And that's when we had some parents step in and help detain those kids."  

After the initial incident, word spread quickly, with rumors suggesting that someone had a gun at the dance. 

"When those kids ran out, the word immediately spread like wildfire via social media, via Snapchat, via any way of communication, word of mouth, and before you know it, there is a stampede," Henson said, according to WSB-TV. 

It later turned out that the students in question were in possession of a vape device, not a gun. 

Why is it important?

While less immediately dangerous than initially believed, the incident highlighted the spread of vaping among young people and the challenges that schools face in keeping campuses and students vape-free. 

A recent report from the World Health Organization found that, around the world, at least 15 million children ages 13 to 15 use vape products, with young people nine times more likely to vape than adults. 

"E-cigarettes are fuelling a new wave of nicotine addiction," said Etienne Krug of the WHO in a press release. "They are marketed as harm reduction but, in reality, are hooking kids on nicotine earlier and risk undermining decades of progress."

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Despite public perceptions that e-cigarettes and other nicotine-containing vape products are "safer" than traditional cigarettes, officials have warned that nicotine remains highly addictive and that vape products pose serious risks to human health. 

"No tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, are safe," the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on its website. 

In addition to containing nicotine, which is particularly harmful for youth, pregnant women, and fetuses, e-cigarettes and vapes pose other health risks, as well. 

"Aerosol from e-cigarettes can also contain harmful and potentially harmful substances," according to the CDC website. "These include cancer-causing chemicals and tiny particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs."

In addition to the harms that vapes can cause to users, vaping devices also present risks to the environment and public health more broadly. 

First, the manufacture and distribution of vape products produces large quantities of planet-heating pollution. Additionally, vape devices contain dangerous heavy metals like mercury and lead as well as hazardous fire-retardant chemicals, all of which can leach into the soil and water supply when vapes are improperly discarded, according to a 2023 review of the scientific literature. 

The lithium-ion batteries inside vaping devices also present a serious risk of fire when disposed of improperly. 

What's being done about it?

Countries and municipalities around the world have been taking steps to address the increase in vaping, especially among youth. On one end of the spectrum, countries like Singapore and Malaysia have moved to ban all vaping outright. In the U.K., the government has prohibited the sale of single-use vape products, while in the U.S., authorities have taken an increasingly hardline approach to cracking down on illicit vapes. 

Additionally, organizations like the National Waste and Recycling Association have been working to increase public awareness about the dangers of improperly disposing of products that contain lithium-ion batteries, including vaping devices. The NWRA launched its Battery Safety Now campaign with the slogan, "Skip the bin, turn your batteries in."  

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