My reporting on youth vaping in Sacramento was transformed by community engagement

When I started looking into Sacramento’s teen vaping crisis, I thought I had a decent understanding of the problem. Like many others, I knew that teens were vaping in school bathrooms, and despite the ban on flavored vapes in California, they were still widely accessible. 

This topic wasn’t just something I wanted to cover — it felt personal. Some of my closest friends have struggled with vaping, and I have previously reported on vape detector installations in schools. However, as I began probing deeper into this issue, I realized my approach needed to reflect its sensitive nature. 

Starting with parents, turning to teens

I started my investigation by turning to parents in the community. I wanted to gauge how much parents already knew about vaping, what knowledge gaps existed, and whether they talked with their children about it. To gather information, I launched an online survey to reach a wider pool of parents and asked questions like, “How do you talk to your kids about vaping?” and “What information do you need to help prevent your kids from vaping?” 

While these responses were helpful, I didn’t feel they reached the heart of the issue as I’d initially hoped. To understand teen vaping and its associated culture, it was vital for me to hear directly from teens. Specifically, I wanted to hear from those who vaped themselves, resisted it, or were affected by it indirectly. That’s when I decided to pivot and involve teens directly in the reporting process. 

The breakthrough: Engaging student reporters 

While brainstorming with my editors, we got creative. I turned to Sacramento BREATHE, a nonprofit focused on reducing tobacco use, and Sac School Beat, a student journalism organization. The students involved in Sacramento BREATHE were already working to raise awareness about the dangers of vaping. One of them was Kay Stout, also a reporter for Sac School Beat and a student at Cordova High School. Stout was an active youth advocate in Sacramento BREATHE’s efforts to combat nicotine use. 

As we discussed how to gather genuine insights, we realized that having students interview their peers could give us more candid responses than adults. Stout, along with other student reporters — Benjamin Lopez, Matthew Tong, Charynna Torres-Calderon Pe Benito, Rishi Upadhyay, and Rohan Upadhyay — became a core part of this peer-to-peer reporting model. 

With support from a community engagement grant from the Center, we trained Stout and the other student reporters in interviewing techniques and audio recording. They weren’t just helping out — they became co-creators of the project. They helped us ask the right questions and capture the real stories in their schools. The team of students interviewed youth who avoided bathrooms because of the vape clouds, and students who feared the long-term health impacts of their addiction but didn’t know where to turn. We also wanted to hear what solutions they had in mind. 

This peer-to-peer approach made a huge difference. Students were more open when talking to each other than they would have been with adults. They spoke about the social pressures, mental health struggles, and how easily accessible vapes are, despite the laws in place. The insights these student reporters gathered were real and raw. 

Uncovering the complexity of teen vaping 

Vaping wasn’t just about nicotine addiction. For some teens, it's about fitting in, relieving stress, or coping with anxiety and depression. Students talked about how vaping had become so normalized within their schools. They revealed that their peers weren’t fully aware of the health concerns that came with vaping, and mentioned how peer pressure played a significant role as to why many started using the products in the first place. 

What surprised me the most was how vaping affected everyone at school, even those who didn’t vape directly. Bathrooms had turned into vaping hotspots, and some students felt 

uncomfortable using them because of second-hand inhalation. The problem wasn’t just personal to those who vape — it impacted the broader school environment. 

Some teens mentioned they understood that vaping led to negative health consequences but felt stuck. They wanted to quit or help others stop but didn’t have the resources or know the people they could turn to for help. Others that we heard from didn’t fully understand long-term health risks, while some felt that the short-term stress relief vaping provided was beneficial. 

Collaborating with health care providers 

While the student interviews gave us personal stories, I knew we also needed expert insights to understand the bigger picture of vaping’s health risks. I reached out to Dr. Elisa Tong from the UC Davis Tobacco Policy Research Center, who shared data on how vaping affects adolescent brains. She explained how quickly nicotine addiction takes hold and how flavored vapes make it even more appealing to teens. 

I also collaborated with Dr. Lena Van Der List, a UC Davis Medical Center pediatrician. Dr. Van Der List has treated several teens suffering from vaping-related respiratory issues and offered valuable advice on how parents could talk to their kids about vaping. She emphasized the importance of starting these conversations early and approaching them with empathy, not punishment. Her insights mirrored what many students had told us—teens want their parents to be honest and supportive, not judgmental or harsh. 

Lessons learned

Through this process, I learned a lot about how to report on issues similar to teen vaping: 

Be flexible: My research and outreach began with parents, but shifting my approach to working with students and student reporters directly led to a deeper understanding of the issue. Don’t be afraid to change your approach if it’s not working. 

Empowering students: Giving student reporters like Kay Stout ownership of the story gave us insights that adults probably wouldn’t have uncovered. Peer-to-peer interviews allowed teens to open up and share their real experiences. This approach didn’t just give us new perspectives — it empowered the students to become advocates for change. 

The key to understanding teen vaping wasn’t in adult opinions or distant observations. It was in the lived experences of the teens themselves. Centering their voices allowed us to tell a more accurate and meaningful story. 

A bigger health crisis: Teen vaping is part of a much larger public health issue. The lack of mental health support and gaps in health education are driving teens to vape. If we want to make a real impact, we need to address these underlying problems. 

The collaboration between Sacramento BREATHE, Sac School Beat, parents, health care providers, and our student reporters didn’t just highlight the problem — it also helped point to solutions. Schools need more resources, but they also need to involve students in the conversation. Empowering teens to be part of the solution, instead of just punishing them, is the critical step forward. 

As I continue my work, I’ll carry these lessons with me.