Taking on cigarettes was a success for schools, but now they’re fighting another giant: JUUL.

According to the National Youth Tobacco Survey conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, 28 percent of high schoolers in the U.S. smoked in 2000. By 2017, only 7.6 percent of high schoolers smoked. That’s a win for public health officials and educators, including Monterey Peninsula Unified School District Superintendent PK Diffenbaugh, who attributes the decline to targeted public health efforts including price increases and a savvy anti-smoking media campaign.

But as one industry falls, another one rises. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration documented a 78-percent surge in e-cigarette use among high schoolers and a 48-percent surge among middle schoolers from 2017 to 2018. “Vaping has replaced cigarette smoking,” Diffenbaugh says. In this case, the monster has a name: JUUL. That’s why on Jan. 14, MPUSD’s board voted unanimously to join 14 other school districts in suing the company. MPUSD filed suit in Monterey County Superior Court on Jan. 27.

Diffenbaugh says JUUL is particularly effective at advertising to kids, noting flavors and the discreet, concealable design of the devices.

A JUUL spokesperson writes, “Our customer base is the world’s 1 billion adult smokers and we do not intend to attract under-age users.”

Plaintiffs are seeking compensation from JUUL, claiming money and time were diverted away from classrooms and into mitigating and preventing vaping. This includes money for security, workshops and installing devices like vape detectors in bathrooms.

There’s also funding lost due to student absences and time outside of class for prevention assemblies. “It’s really taking away time from the classrooms and learning,” Diffenbaugh says.