Principal calls vaping a school public‑health crisis, urges prevention and sonic detection, and suggests limits on nearby vape shops

Ryan Poston, principal of St. James High School, told the board that vaping in schools has moved beyond experimentation and is harming students' health and learning.

"This year, Horry County Schools has experienced 119 tobacco vape incidents. We've also experienced 75 THC vape incidents," Poston said, adding that those figures reflect incidents across district campuses. He described an emergency in which a student was found unresponsive after vaping and had to be revived with an AED, and he said the devices can contain nicotine or synthetic cannabinoids with unknown long-term effects on adolescent brains.

Poston urged the district to treat vaping as a public-health crisis rather than solely as a behavior problem, recommending prevention programs, counseling integrated with mental-health supports, parent education, and classroom instruction on media literacy and refusal skills. "Suspensions we know don't treat addiction," he said.

Superintendent Jones and trustees echoed the concern. Jones noted local counts and suggested placing limits on vape retailers near schools: "We also need to protect our kids when they're at our school. So we don't need vape shops within 1500ft of our schools," he said, urging community and policy responses in addition to school-based interventions.

No regulatory change was voted on Oct. 6; Poston and the superintendent said they would continue to pursue prevention, education and enforcement measures in coordination with families and community partners.