CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- New numbers show e-cigarette use is up more than 1,000 percent in North Carolina secondary schools.
The results of this statewide youth tobacco survey are leaving parents and education leaders stunned, especially considering the fact that it's illegal for those under 18 to purchase e-cigarette products in the Tar Heel State.
“Vape oil has been found to be laced with cocaine heroin and Fentanyl bath salts,” said Cabarrus County EMS Director Alan Thompson.
Thompson has previously issued warnings for the local community. Earlier in the year, several dozens of local students were hospitalized with seizures induced from unregulated e-cigarette oils.
"It's only a matter of time before a young adult dies because of it," Thompson said previously.
Results of the annual state youth tobacco survey now reveal that since 2011, e-cigarette use has increased by 894 percent in North Carolina high schools and 430 percent in middle schools.
In addition, 74 percent of middle schoolers and 58 percent of high schoolers say they tried to quit in the past year but couldn't.