Stop the vaping in bathrooms.
The bathroom is for pooping. Here's how to get it back, and how to stop the next class of freshmen from picking up the habit.
Take the bathrooms backPicking up where you left off.
We'll find the people at your school and district who can act on this, and check whether your state already bans flavored vapes.
School not in the list (middle school, private, outside the US)?
Spend a day paying attention
No confronting anyone, no photos of people. Just notice, and write down:
- Which bathrooms smell like it, and at what time of day (it's usually two or three, not all of them)
- Whether there's ever a group in there that isn't leaving
- Whether you or your friends have skipped a bathroom because of it
- Pods, chargers or empties in the stalls or the trash
- Whether the people vaping look like freshmen or seniors
You want a sentence like “the two bathrooms by the gym are unusable during lunch and 5th period.” That sentence gets a specific fix. “Everyone vapes” doesn't, and it isn't true: most students don't. Come back and pick whichever of the four above matches what you found.
Admin hears “kids vape in the bathroom” every week and has stopped hearing it. What they haven't heard is how many students hate using the bathroom because of it, or how many say the smell makes them want to come to school less. This survey finds out.
Group chats, your story, the people you sit with at lunch.
Paste your form link where the message says to. 20 responses is enough to argue with; more is better.
There's no single fix for vaping. Pick the ones you have the energy for; you can come back and add more later.
Detectors tell an adult that someone vaped in a room, but don't solve the whole problem. They will make use in the bathroom much less common.
What the evidence says
- Mixed at best. A 2026 study of Ontario schools found no evidence they reduce vaping; students' verdict was the paper's title, “A machine's not gonna stop it.” Study
- Where schools say they worked, they were one piece of a bigger plan. Piedmont USD (CA) piloted one detector per school in 2019, paid for by a state tobacco grant, alongside a police youth officer and a city flavor ban; alerts “went down quite a bit” and the Healthy Kids Survey showed less vaping by 2023. Lincoln, NE (HALO) went from ~100 alerts in the first week to 4 by winter break. South Milwaukee, WI (HALO) reports 40% fewer incidents, paired with an education module and group therapy instead of just suspensions. All of these count alerts, not how many students vape. Piedmont, Lincoln, South Milwaukee
What they cost
| Sensor | Per unit | Every year |
|---|---|---|
| HALO 3C | ~$1,000 + ~$600 install | ~$100 |
| Zeptive | $995–$1,195 | not published |
Vendor and district figures, 2024–2026. Wired units also need a network cable run to each bathroom, which is often the biggest hidden cost.
Where the money comes from
- JUUL and Altria settlement money. About 1,400 school districts sued JUUL and Altria, and the ones that did got paid in 2023–2025. DeKalb County, GA and Lincoln, NE paid for their detectors with it. Only districts that sued got anything, and the deadline to join has passed, so the question is: did [district name] sue, and has it spent the money? It'll be in the board minutes as a settlement approval around 2023, or you can just ask.
- Federal Title IV-A. Most districts get this “student support” money, and it can pay for evidence-based drug prevention. Texas's education agency says outright that it can pay for vape detectors. Texas FAQ
- State tobacco-prevention grants. Many states fund prevention in schools with tobacco-tax or settlement money. Some of these grants rule out detectors but pay for quit programs, which is the better use anyway. Ask the district whether it has one.
- Local money. In Lancaster County, SC, a local counseling nonprofit paid $200K for 160+ sensors, and students who get caught go to Stanford's quit program instead of being punished. Local health foundations and the PTA are the same kind of ask.
If they get them, put them in right
- Ceiling, 8–9 feet up. Higher than that and the vapor disperses before it reaches the sensor.
- At least a ceiling tile (2 ft) from any HVAC vent, and away from hand dryers, windows, fans and showers. That's where most false alarms come from.
- One per ~12 × 12 ft of floor. A big multi-stall bathroom needs two or three, placed where the air lingers, not by the door.
- Tamper alerts on, and tamper-proof screws. Some schools add a cage.
- Expect about two months of tuning before the alerts mean much.
- No microphones or cameras in the bathroom. Some models (HALO) include a microphone for keyword alerts; in 2025 a researcher showed it could be hijacked as a listening device. Ask for it to be off.
- Decide what an alert does before the first one fires. Alerts should go to someone who can offer help, not only to whoever hands out suspensions.
Email template — Vaping in the bathrooms at [school name] — detectors, and what happens after an alert
Dear [Principal's name], I surveyed [#] students at [school name]. [A]% said vaping happens in our bathrooms. [B]% said it makes using the bathroom worse for them. [C]% said the constant smell of vaping makes them less likely to come to school. [D]% said an older student has offered them a vape or let them use theirs. The bathrooms where it's worst are [which bathrooms, and when]. I know detectors have come up at a lot of schools, and I wanted to ask three things before [school name] decides: 1. Funding. Sensors run roughly $650–$1,500 each plus a yearly license. Did [district name] receive money from the JUUL or Altria school settlements, or does it have tobacco-prevention grant funding that could cover them? 2. Placement. Most false alarms come from bad placement: near HVAC vents, hand dryers or showers. If we get them, could they go in [the worst bathrooms] first, installed to the manufacturer's spec, with tamper alerts turned on? 3. What happens after an alert. In districts where every alert led to suspension, discipline went up and fewer students got help quitting. Could an alert lead to a counselor and a quit program the first time, rather than straight to suspension? Could I get ten minutes to go over the survey results with you? Thank you, [your name] A student at [school name]
Find their email on your school's staff directory.
81% of young people who have vaped say they started to deal with stress, anxiety or depression. Social workers help kids avoid vapes before the problem starts. The mental-health doorstop walks through how to get funding to hire one, step by step.
Free help to quit, for anyone who wants it
- EX Programtext EXPROGRAM to 88709
Truth Initiative's text program for ages 13 and up (it used to be called This is Quitting). Anonymous and free. In a trial, teens who used it were about 35% more likely to quit. - Kick It Californiatext "Quit Vaping" to 66819
California's free quit line, with coaches who work with teens. Or call 1-800-300-8086 (Spanish: 1-800-600-8191). - NOT for Me
The American Lung Association's self-guided online quit program for ages 13–19. - 988call or text 988
If the stress is the bigger problem than the vape. Free, 24/7, and you don't have to be in crisis to use it.
Email template — Supporting students who vape at [school name]
Dear [Director of Student Services or counselor's name], I surveyed [#] students at [school name]. [A]% said vaping happens in our bathrooms. [B]% said it makes using the bathroom worse for them. [C]% said the constant smell of vaping makes them less likely to come to school. [D]% said an older student has offered them a vape or let them use theirs. Most young people who vape say they started to deal with stress or anxiety, and a lot of the students I talked to want to quit. I'd like to ask for two things: 1. That a first vaping offense at [school name] leads to a quit program (Stanford's Healthy Futures or the ALA's INDEPTH are free) and a counselor, rather than only a suspension. 2. More social worker or counselor time, so students have somewhere to go with the stress before it turns into a habit. Is that something the district is considering, and is there a grant or budget line it could come from? I'd be glad to share the full survey results. Thank you, [your name] A student at [school name]
Find their email on your school's staff directory.
About 9 in 10 middle and high schoolers who vape use flavors. When Massachusetts banned flavored tobacco in 2019, high school vaping there fell from 27.7% to 15.7% in two years, faster than in states without a ban. Your school can't make that law. Your state legislators can, and almost none of them have ever heard about it from a student.
Email your two state legislators
You have one state senator and one state representative. Find yours by address (use your school's address if you like). Their office emails are on the legislature's site. Staff read these, and a constituent who is a student with survey numbers is rare.
Email template — A student at [school name] on flavored vapes
Dear [Senator / Representative] [last name], I'm a [grade] grader at [school name], in your district. I surveyed [#] students at [school name]. [A]% said vaping happens in our bathrooms. [B]% said it makes using the bathroom worse for them. [C]% said the constant smell of vaping makes them less likely to come to school. [D]% said an older student has offered them a vape or let them use theirs. About 9 in 10 students who vape use flavored products. When Massachusetts banned flavored tobacco, youth vaping there fell faster than in states without a ban. I'm asking you to support a statewide ban on the sale of flavored e-cigarettes. I'd love ten minutes with you or your staff, in person or on a call, to share what students at my school are seeing. And if you're ever at [school name], I'd be glad to show you around. Thank you, [your name] A student at [school name]
Selfie diplomacy: go in person
In 2012, Chicago students drove three hours to Springfield once a week, caught legislators in the hallway for a minute each, told their story, and asked for a selfie. The legislator gets a post; you get a relationship. They got a statewide law passed by 2015.
- Go when they're home. Town halls, district office hours, and the local parade are easier than the capitol. Their newsletter lists them.
- Bring three people and one number. “[C]% of students at my school say the smell of vaping makes them less likely to come to school” is the sentence.
- Ask for the selfie, then ask for the thing. “Can I get a picture with you? And will you support [the ask]?” Post it and tag them. Now it's public that they heard you.
- Follow up by email within a day with the survey results.
What to say — thirty seconds in a hallway
Hi, I'm [name], a [grade] grader at [school name]. [B]% of students at my school say vaping makes using the bathroom worse, and [D]% say an older student has offered them a vape. About 9 in 10 students who vape use flavored products. When Massachusetts banned flavored tobacco, youth vaping there fell faster than in states without a ban. I'm asking you to support a statewide ban on the sale of flavored e-cigarettes. Could I get a picture with you, and could I send you our survey results?
Most kids don't buy their first vape. About 60% say a friend gave them their first one, often a friend's older sibling, and younger students mostly borrow instead of owning a device. So the supply chain for freshmen is juniors and seniors. That's who this step is aimed at.
Show everyone most of the school is against it
Most students overestimate how many of their classmates vape. Nobody vapes to be in the minority, so showing the real number matters. Get a minute at the start of an assembly, a pep rally, or a class, and ask:
Say it out loud
Raise your hand if you have ever not gone to the bathroom because people were vaping in there.
Then put your survey result on a poster by the bathrooms: “[B]% of us say vaping makes the bathroom worse.” Norms alone won't change behavior, but they make every other step here land harder.
Get the right ten people to say it
A poster from the health teacher doesn't change what juniors do. What juniors think other juniors think does. Every school has a handful of people whose opinion sets the tone: psychologists call them social referents, and they are usually not the student council kids.
This is the one approach with real trial evidence behind it. In a UK study of 10,000+ students across 59 schools, students voted for the peers they looked up to, those peers were trained for two days, and then they just talked to their friends about not smoking. Smoking fell by about 20%, and stayed down two years later.
- Find them. Ask around, or put it in your survey: “Who at this school do people listen to?” The same ten names come up.
- Talk to them one at a time, with the survey numbers. Especially the seniors people look up to who do vape: “I'm not asking you to quit. I'm asking you not to hand it to freshmen.”
- Ask for one specific thing: say the message out loud to their team, their friend group or their followers.
Start a senior–freshman mentorship program
Freshmen get their first vape from an older student they want to impress. Give them a different older student: a senior who checks in on them for the first semester, shows them where things are, and is someone to sit with at lunch. It isn't a vaping program, which is why it works: it changes who the freshmen look up to.
- Pair 1 senior with 2–3 freshmen, starting the first week of school.
- Pick seniors people actually like, not only the honor roll (see the referents play above).
- Two things every mentor says out loud: they don't vape around their freshmen, and if a freshman wants to quit, they help.
- Find a teacher or counselor to be the adult on it so it survives when you graduate.
No curriculum needed. If your school wants one for the middle school side, CATCH My Breath is free, takes four class periods, and in a trial made students far less likely to start by 8th grade.
Email template — Proposal: a senior–freshman mentorship program at [school name]
Dear [Principal's name], I surveyed [#] students at [school name]. [A]% said vaping happens in our bathrooms. [B]% said it makes using the bathroom worse for them. [C]% said the constant smell of vaping makes them less likely to come to school. [D]% said an older student has offered them a vape or let them use theirs. Most students get their first vape from a friend, often an older one. I'd like to start a senior–freshman mentorship program at [school name]: each volunteer senior checks in on two or three freshmen through their first semester. Mentors agree not to vape around their freshmen and to help any who want to quit. What we'd need: a staff advisor, [a list of incoming freshmen / time during orientation] to make the pairings, and [a room at lunch once a month]. [Names] have already said they'd mentor. Could I get ten minutes to walk you through it? Thank you, [your name] A student at [school name]
Find their email on your school's staff directory.
Make "we can help you quit" true
The message only works if the help part is real. Put these where people will see them: the bathroom stall doors, the back of your survey poster, your story. All free and confidential, none of them tell a parent or the school.
- EX Programtext EXPROGRAM to 88709
Truth Initiative's text program for ages 13 and up (it used to be called This is Quitting). Anonymous and free. In a trial, teens who used it were about 35% more likely to quit. - Kick It Californiatext "Quit Vaping" to 66819
California's free quit line, with coaches who work with teens. Or call 1-800-300-8086 (Spanish: 1-800-600-8191). - NOT for Me
The American Lung Association's self-guided online quit program for ages 13–19. - 988call or text 988
If the stress is the bigger problem than the vape. Free, 24/7, and you don't have to be in crisis to use it.
Vaping is different at every school. Let's work out yours.
Which bathrooms, which grades, who's handing it down, and which adults will actually help: none of that is the same at two schools, and it decides which of the steps above work where you are. A Doorstop Session is us working with you and your friends to figure that out and put it into practice.
- Read your survey results with you and pick the one change that matters most
- Find your school's social referents and get them to carry the message
- Set up the senior–freshman program so it outlasts you
- Get you ready for the principal, the board, or the state house
Free for public schools.
Rather write to us first? Send this and a person will reply.
Email template — Student at [school name] — need help with vaping at my school
Hi Ben, I'm a student at [school name]. Vaping at my school looks like: [where it happens, who, how bad]. I need help with [what you need: running the survey / getting seniors on board / talking to admin / funding / the state house / something else]. So far I've [what you've already tried, if anything]. Thanks, [your name]
people are vaping in our bathrooms and i'm doing something about it
this is a 1 minute anonymous survey about vaping at our school. i'm using the results to prove there's a problem.
[paste your form link]
fill it out even if you've never touched one.
Want more help?
We can work with you directly to make these changes.
Email template — Student at [school name] — need help with vaping at my school
Hi Ben, I'm a student at [school name]. Vaping at my school looks like: [where it happens, who, how bad]. I need help with [what you need: running the survey / getting seniors on board / talking to admin / funding / the state house / something else]. So far I've [what you've already tried, if anything]. Thanks, [your name]