Louisiana
Why have so many Louisiana teens started vaping? This expert says: Ask them.
Louisiana has one of the highest rates of teen vaping in the country.
In 2023, 30% of high school students in Louisiana reported using e-cigarettes in the past month, compared with 17% of high schoolers nationwide, according to state and federal surveys.
Louisiana schools have struggled to deter students from vaping, which some do in bathrooms and hallways.
Young people who vape face health risks and are more likely to start smoking cigarettes. Yet many teens view vaping as safer than smoking and are drawn to e-cigarettes for their flavors, said Mattie Hawkins, a regional manager at the Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living, or TFL, which promotes tobacco-control policies.
Hawkins spends her time talking to teens about tobacco and its negative impact on the brain and body. Last month, TFL hosted the “Rise Above Vaping Symposium” at Istrouma High School in Baton Rouge, where students were given a safe space to share their experiences with e-cigarettes.
Humana addiction services manager Jeny Rodrigue hands a fast food gift card to student Jam Jordan after he answered a question correctly about the dangers of vaping at Istrouma High School during the Vaping Town Hall on Thursday, October 24, 2024.
“Just being around other students, they were able to have honest and open dialogue,” Hawkins said.
The conversations with students have helped Hawkins and her team better understand what draws teens to vaping — and what might convince them to stop.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What do you hear from young people about why they started vaping?
Some of the main reasons students may start vaping are, of course, curiosity. They may have family and friends who vape, so they could deal with peer pressure or they may just see them and also want to do it.
Our youth also struggle with stress and many different mental health issues, so that’s a reason, too. They may be attracted to the different flavors of vapes, or they might think it looks cool.
Why has vaping become so much more popular with teens than smoking?
When e-cigarettes were created, they were marketed as being safer than cigarettes. But studies have shown that they’re actually not safer.
A pack of 20 cigarettes is equivalent (in nicotine content) to one JUUL pod.
What does vaping look like in school?
They are easy to sneak in. We’ve heard from principals that kids are just grabbing their parents’ (vapes) and they think it’s OK, they think it’s cool and don’t see it as being harmful.
You have some parents who may actually buy it for their students because they don’t see it as an issue. And then you have older students who are able to purchase vapes from local smoke shops who don’t pay attention to age requirements.
So those kids are able to get them into schools and pass them among each other. Some kids pick them up off the ground, too, which is nasty.
How do you talk to kids about quitting?
I have to let them know, “I’m not condemning you, I’m not judging you, but these are the facts. These are the statistics when it comes to vaping.”
I tell them about the health issues that may affect their body in the long run.
Can you go into more detail about the problems vapes can cause?
Recent studies have shown that vaping can lead to urinary and bladder cancer for youth.
Kids typically first try tobacco around 13 or 14 years old, and smoking can be detrimental to brain development. The human brain doesn’t stop developing until around 25, and tobacco stunts its growth, so kids often have issues with focusing and memory. They also tend to struggle with anxiety.
How can parents help their kids quit?
The first step in prevention when it comes to family is being open and having those conversations, explaining to youth the dangers of tobacco use.
Once again, not condemning them, but just having that open dialogue where they’re able to tell you something.
What can schools do to combat vaping?
With schools, we have a Live Vape Free tool kit, which is a comprehensive online tool kit for schools to take the lead in responding to the youth vaping epidemic. These kits guide schools in how to create a tobacco-free environment that prevents students from using products like e-cigarettes. It also supports students who need help quitting.
The tool kit encourages schools to lessen the punitive consequences for smoking. Students who are caught vaping face the possibility of being expelled, so the kit offers guides for coaching or hosting sessions to talk about why kids shouldn’t do this. It’s about positive reinforcement.
What was the idea behind the recent anti-vaping event your group hosted at Istrouma High School?
The Rise Above Vaping Symposium was actually a pilot event, so it was our first time hosting it.
We brought together middle school and high school students to educate and create awareness about the harmful effects of vaping.
They had the opportunity to share their personal experiences with vaping, and we had an open discussion where we wanted to understand the factors contributing to the vaping epidemic among youth and develop an actionable, peer-to-peer intervention strategy.
Louisiana
Brother of Louisiana mayor accused of raping 16-year-old has a hauntingly similar criminal past
The brother of Louisiana mayor Misty Roberts — accused of raping her son’s teenage friend — is facing child sex crimes of his own.
Brandon Lee Roberts, 39, was accused of raping a teen girl and assaulting a young woman over the course of several years, KALB reported.
The alleged sexual abuse began when one of the victims was as young as 13, according to Beauregard Parish Sheriff Mark Herford.
He was arrested in October.
That comes years after his big sister – ex-mayor of DeRidder, 43-year-old Misty Roberts – allegedly got hot and heavy with her son’s 16-year-old friend at a drunken party at their home.
Roberts was allegedly caught in the tryst by her own kids.
She was arrested months later, and is currently on trial for rape charges.
The Louisiana Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at March 2, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from March 2 drawing
02-17-18-38-62, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from March 2 drawing
3-9-9
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from March 2 drawing
4-1-1-0
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 5 numbers from March 2 drawing
0-5-2-9-5
Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
All Louisiana Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $600. For prizes over $600, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at Louisiana Lottery offices. Prizes of over $5,000 must be claimed at Lottery office.
By mail, follow these instructions:
- Sign and complete the information on the back of your winning ticket, ensuring all barcodes are clearly visible (remove all scratch-off material from scratch-off tickets).
- Photocopy the front and back of the ticket (except for Powerball and Mega Millions tickets, as photocopies are not accepted for these games).
- Complete the Louisiana Lottery Prize Claim Form, including your telephone number and mailing address for prize check processing.
- Photocopy your valid driver’s license or current picture identification.
Mail all of the above in a single envelope to:
Louisiana Lottery Headquarters
555 Laurel Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70801
To submit in person, visit Louisiana Lottery headquarters:
555 Laurel Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70801, (225) 297-2000.
Hours: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes of any amount.
Check previous winning numbers and payouts at Louisiana Lottery.
When are the Louisiana Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 3, Pick 4 and Pick 5: Daily at 9:59 p.m. CT.
- Easy 5: 9:59 p.m. CT Wednesday and Saturday.
- Lotto: 9:59 p.m. CT Wednesday and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Louisiana editor. You can send feedback using this form.
NEW ORLEANS — The Louisiana National Guard announced Monday that 120 troops will remain deployed in New Orleans through August.
The six-month extension comes after 350 Guard members deployed to New Orleans in late December, in the run-up to New Year’s and other high-profile events like the Sugar Bowl. The troops, which had mainly clustered in the city’s historic French Quarter, had been scheduled to depart in the aftermath of Mardi Gras.
New Orleans is one of several Democrat-run cities, such as Washington and Memphis, Tennessee, where the federal government deployed armed troops under the administration of President Donald Trump. Hundreds of federal agents also converged on Louisiana in December as part of a separate immigration crackdown in and around New Orleans.
During his State of the Union address last week, Trump touted the deployment in New Orleans as a “big success.” In January, Trump credited the troops with reducing the city’s violent crime within a week of their deployment. City police data shows violent crime rates have significantly declined over the past three years in parallel with national trends.
According to a press statement from the Louisiana National Guard, the remaining guard members will serve as a “visible presence to deter criminal activity in New Orleans.”
New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno, a Democrat who initially opposed the deployment, said that the troops would benefit the city in the coming weeks. She pointed out that National Guard troops had assisted the city during last year’s Mardi Gras in the aftermath of a vehicle-ramming attack in the French Quarter that killed 14 people on New Year’s Day.
“I continue to support the partnership with the LA National Guard to assist in our major events and there are several coming up in the next few weeks,” Moreno said in a statement.
While Moreno did not address which events she referred to, visitors flock to New Orleans in the spring for events like the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican and staunch Trump ally, requested the deployment of the National Guard last September, citing rising violent crime rates in New Orleans despite the data showing crime was down.
“This continued deployment will help us combat violence in New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana,” Landry wrote on the social platform X on Monday, noting Louisiana had also sent National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., last year.
Kate Kelly, a spokesperson for Landry, said the federal government would cover the cost of the extended deployment. She did not respond to a question about whether Guard members would be deployed outside New Orleans.
Maj. Gen. Thomas Friloux, adjutant general of the Louisiana National Guard, said in a statement the troops had already worked closely with other city, state and federal agencies to improve public safety during a stretch of high-profile events in the city, including the flood of visitors over Mardi Gras and the city’s carnival season.
“We remain committed to those partnerships as we continue supporting efforts to keep the City of New Orleans safe for residents and visitors,” Friloux said.
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