North Carolina

North Carolina schools have added e-cigs to 'no smoking' signs

GREENVILLE, N.C. — North Carolina public schools have added a picture of an electronic cigarette to their "no smoking" signs.

All public schools in the state are required to have a sign posted stating they are a tobacco-free zone, but this year a symbol has been added to also ban e-cigarette use, also called vaping.

[ALSO READ: CDC investigating possible link between vaping and severe lung disease]

Pitt County Health Department Coordinator Tiffany Thigpen said the state received money to add the symbol to the signs ahead of the new school year.

The addition comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention investigates 94 possible cases of severe lung disease associated with vaping reported across 14 states this summer.

Pitt County Public Health Director John Silvernail says three of those cases were reported in North Carolina.