Lawmakers may help Lexington County educators with vaping on campus.
House bill 4710 will ban vaping in SC public schools.
The House Judiciary General Laws Subcommittee approved the bill to close loopholes that did not include vaping on campus. 
A Chronicle survey of the county’s 5 school districts found that all have banned vaping as they ban tobacco use on campus. They consider it a serious infraction.
Many schools require lessons on the dangers of vaping, a method of inhaling nicotine and other substances that has been associated with lung illness and deaths.
Some districts elsewhere use vape detectors in restrooms and randomly test students for nicotine. Others have tried banning bathroom breaks during class or removing stall doors.
Others offer incentives to encourage students to surrender their vapes.
An estimated 5.4 million middle and high school students have used e-cigarettes, federal officials say.
That is 20% of all US students, far more than the 4.3% that used cigarettes.
The Centers for Disease Control reported 2,561 cases of hospitalizations for lung injury involving e-cigarettes, and 55 deaths.
The majority of cases are linked to products containing THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.
School administrators say vaping is more challenging than regular cigarettes.
Vape devices are typically battery-powered and made to look like pens, lipstick tubes and USB drives.
They come in child-friendly flavors, from bubble gum to strawberry cheesecake, and have pleasant smells.
Students can take quick whiffs undetected while in class or in a hallway, with exhaled vapor dissolving quickly into the air.