A new report shows that the number of seventh, ninth and eleventh graders engaged in vaping—breathing in drugs like nicotine as vapor rather than smoke, usually through the use of electronic cigarettes—has more than doubled in Marin County in the past two years. According to the data, which was released as part of the 2017-2018 California Health Kids Survey, use of vaping devices has increased for all age groups spanning seventh to eleventh grade. The percentage of students who have used a device increased from 25 percent to 34 percent for ninth graders, and 39 percent to 47 percent for eleventh graders. “Youth all around the county are [vaping] and don’t think it’s as dangerous as regular tobacco products,” Bob Curry, program manager of Marin County’s Tobacco Control Program, said. “The more popular e-cigarette around here is the Juul, and that one pod, which they would go through in two to three days, is equivalent to the nicotine you would get in one pack of cigarettes. After you’re smoking these pods for a fairly short period of time, you’re going to be addicted to nicotine.” He added that teens “just don’t know and [don’t] understand that this is full of nicotine. They think it’s just a trend and that there’s no harm connected to it at all.” Currently, federal law prohibits the sale of e-cigarettes to minors, but the devices can be purchased in most convenience stores and gas stations. Earlier this month, the Food and Drug Administration said that if the five major manufacturers of such products fail to halt sales to minors, it would consider removing their products from the market. Marin public schools have no-vaping policies and are developing anti-vaping education programs; Mike Grant, director of facilities at the Office of Education, said specific prevention efforts vary by school. One of the strongest prevention pushes has been to create peer educators; last year, students at Sir Francis Drake High produced a public service announcement against vaping specifically and tobacco in general. This year, Marin’s Peer Summit, an event for seventh and eighth graders led largely by the county’s youth commission, has identified vaping as one of its central topics to address. “We view the data coming out right now as an opportunity to really help bring more focus and effort onto this,” Mr. Grant said. “It’s concerning data, but we feel like it’ll help us get the word out and focus on [vaping] as a community.” Following in the footsteps of Sausalito, Fairfax and Novato, the Marin County Board of Supervisors will look into creating an ordinance this fall that would prohibit the sale of vaping products and flavored tobacco. “Vaping is not something that can be taken lightly,” Mr. Curry said.