The Cougar Claw The Student Newspaper of Tomball High School
Vol. 52, Issue 2
THSCougarClaw.com
December 2018
MURDER in a
Rising use of vaping alarming Doctors note many teens turn to smoking
SMALL TOWN
by Abi Baldwin Features Editor What was once seen as a healthier alternative to cigarettes has become a major health concern for teens, according to medical experts. Teens today are more likely to fall into nicotine addiction due to vaping, which is detrimental to their mental and physical health. With the increased popularity of vaping, high school students are more susceptible to falling prey to the risks of e-cigarettes. The modern e-cigarette was invented in 2003 by a Chinese pharmacist, Hon Lik. Since e-cigarettes were first sold in 2004 their global use has risen exponentially. Smoking and cigarettes were on a slow decline, it was thought that this generation would be the Video on Vaping last to see from KTHS-TV chain-smokers, but all this changed with the rise of modern e-cigarettes. Vaping has now become the latest trend and greatest health risk of the time, popping up everywhere on social media and in public. Though companies swear their marketing is for adults, vapes usually end up in the hands of teenagers. “Seventy-five percent of my customers come in wanting to stop smoking but a lot can’t so they do the whining process to slowly stop smoking...the larger younger customers do it just for fun,” said David Borella, who is the co-owner of K&D Vape. “Usually [teenagers] go for the [vapes] without nicotine but recently with the smaller devices, like Juul, kids have come in to try to get a higher nicotine level vape.” Within six months of vaping about a third of teenagers move to normal cigarettes because of their addiction to nicotine, and this is profoundly damaging and harmful to their health. This resulted in new rules at schools, making the punishment for having an e-cigarette, at least parts of See VAPING, Page 3
A
brutal killing of a retired school teacher in 1993 left Tomball shocked and frightened. Solving the crime was easy, but it took police two and a half
decades to bring the killer to justice. This is the story of how Mildred Stallone’s killer was identified, found and brought to justice. Pages 5-6
Babb crowned new Miss Tomball by Sabrina Ulloa Editor-in-Chief
Presley Babb, a senior, took third place last year in the Miss Tomball Pageant, but brought home the crown for 2019. Photo by Brooke McGarrah
Dressed up in a dazzling white dress and wearing her heart on her sleeve, Presley Babb was crowned as the next Miss Tomball. “I was just really shocked, I wasn’t expecting to get that far,” Babb said. Babb also competed in the Miss Tomball 2018 pageant were she was named the third runner up. However, this year she decided to have fun and stress less about the pageant itself. After competing this year, she won the title of Miss Tomball 2019. “Last year I prepared a lot because I was really nervous but this year I just kind of prepared by not stressing about it because stressing about it would be
just too overwhelming,” Babb said. Babb definitely felt that participating her junior year helped her be more confident and less nervous this time. “I just decided that I really wanted to have fun with it this year. Especially because it was my senior year,” Babb said. One of Babb’s highlights about the pageant was meeting all of the girls because if it wasn’t for the pageant she wouldn’t have met most of them since they attend other schools. “My favorite part was definitely getting to meet all the girls, they are so nice,” Babb said. Being a part of Miss Tomball has opened many doors for her and many opportunities to meet other girls, espeSee BABB, Page 3