Independence Health thoracic surgeon Michael Szwerc asked Hempfield Area’s ninth grade students to raise their hand if they believe vaping is dangerous.
Nearly all 360 students seated in the Harrold School auditorium Wednesday afternoon shot a hand into the air.
Szwerc, who has practiced thoracic surgery for 26 years, has worked at Westmoreland and Latrobe hospitals since 2015.
Last year, Latrobe Hospital performed the seventh most lung cancer surgeries of hospitals statewide and received a three-star rating — the highest available — from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons.
But Szwerc doesn’t limit his work to inside the hospital walls. As growing numbers of middle and high school students turn to e-cigarettes, also known as vapes, Szwerc is on a mission to spread awareness of the danger behind that smoking product directly to youths who might some day be affected.
“It’s one thing to do the high-end surgery and the high-end care,” said Szwerc, director of Latrobe Hospital’s robotic and thoracic surgery department. “But it’s also really important to take a group like this and say, ‘Don’t go down these paths.’ ”
School board member arranged presentation
Hempfield Area School Director Daniel Graft works in medical device sales, where he helps doctors — including Szwerc — identify which equipment to use for their patients. Graft believes it is important for the district’s ninth grade students to hear Szwerc’s message.
“I unfortunately see what he sees when he’s talking about lung cancer,” Graft said, “and I know the effects and the impact that it has. That age group that is targeted is a very vulnerable age and can be easily influenced.”
Although e-cigarettes are a relatively new smoking product, Szwerc is already starting to see the short-term impact of vaping — namely nicotine addiction.
Szwerc: Middle, high school students target of vaping industry
Once addicted, nicotine users rely on the chemical to avoid withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, disruption of sleep, stress and difficulty concentrating, Szwerc said. He said using nicotine at a young age, in particular, often results in lifelong smoking behaviors and mental health concerns.
Cigarette smoking — a cheaper alternative to vaping — is responsible for between 80% and 90% of lung cancer deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Vaping devices also target the youth population, Szwerc said. They come in multiple flavors, are wrapped in brightly colored packaging and commonly placed next to candy or snacks at gas station cash registers.
Nearly 6% of middle and high school students nationwide — 1.6 million — reported vaping in a 2024 survey by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
Principal: ‘We always find kids with vapes’
Jason Lochner, Harrold School principal, can attest to the prevalence of vaping among young people.
“We always find kids with vapes,” Lochner said.
Students caught with a vaping device on school grounds have to complete one day of in-school suspension.
They can avoid having charges filed with the local magistrate’s office if they complete a Smokeless Saturday course, which is an online education and prevention program taught by nonprofit Breathe PA. The course costs $75 and includes two four-hour-long sessions.
Harrold administrators and teachers have confiscated fewer vapes from students in the past two years, Lochner said — which he hopes is a sign the school’s efforts are working.
The school also offers students an opportunity to enroll in a vaping cessation course at Saint Vincent College, Lochner said.
“We actually do have a couple of kids that have referred themselves and signed up,” he said. “So it’s nice to see that at least a few kids are acknowledging that they have a problem and are trying to take steps to help themselves.”
If nothing else, Szwerc hopes the students he speaks to remember vaping’s consequences.
“I just wanted them to walk away understanding — if they haven’t understood these things — what’s in them, what they can do,” he said. “Hopefully, it will jog their memory or help them in a moment of weakness, thinking, ‘I don’t want to go down that path that that guy talked about.’ ”
Students struggling with vaping or smoking addiction can visit teen.smokefree.gov to be connected with resources and counselors.
