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A school in Alabama has removed bathroom stall doors to prevent student vaping

Posted at 1:02 PM, Sep 10, 2019
and last updated 2019-09-10 15:02:11-04

Vaping among teenagers has become a concerning issue for parents and educators, but one school in Alabama is taking an extra precaution that's a little unusual.

At Wilson High School in Florence, Alabama, not all of the bathrooms stalls have doors — and it's been done on purpose.

Administrators told WAFF that students have been breaking school rules to sneak their electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, on to campus to vape.

Wilson High School Principal Gary Horton said a scary situation happened two weeks ago when a student passed out in a bathroom stall after vaping. He added that students are sneaking off to the bathroom every day to vape.

The solution? Remove some of the stall doors in the boys bathrooms.

Parents aren't exactly thrilled with the move, according to WAFF.

“I don’t like it," Rachel Munsey said. "They take their only private place in the school that they can do their business.”

Brandon Campbell echoed a similar sentiment, saying the move was "a little excessive."

Horton said there's a possibility the removal of the bathroom stall doors will be temporary as the school works on finding a solution to the vaping problem.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been investigating vaping-related lung illnesses, which have been tied to at least six deaths.

More than 450 possible cases of severe lung disease that could be caused by vaping have been reported in 33 states and one U.S. territory, according to the latest information from the CDC .