When students smoke cigarettes on school grounds, it’s hard to hide what they’re doing. Plumes of smoke and the strong odor of tobacco or marijuana — scents that linger in the air and seep into clothing and hair — are dead giveaways. 

But most teens who consume tobacco products prefer electronic cigarettes to traditional ones. The vapor e-cigarettes emit, as well as any odor, lasts mere seconds. The devices bear little resemblance to regular cigarettes.

That means it takes more than a watchful eye and a decent sense of smell to detect students vaping. New Internet of Things technology offers a solution.