VAPING PREVENTION & QUIT RESOURCES: Tips for Parents & Schools
FROM SEATTLE KING COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH INSIDER BLOG
School-age kids are using vaping devices at an alarming rate. According to a 2020 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in 5 high school-age kids now say that they use e-cigarettes, and many falsely believe the products are safe. Driving their popularity is a discreet and high-tech look. To make things worse, they can deliver much higher concentrations of addictive nicotine than regular cigarettes, leading to a new generation of addicted tobacco users.
Understanding why young people are using vaping products points to the critical role parents, teachers, and school administrators play in the health and well-being of their students. Influential adults are responsible for providing students support and information to stay vape-free or the tools to quit if they are already vaping.
Unfortunately, according to a Truth Initiative study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine near the start of the epidemic, fewer than half – 44.2% – of parents could identify a picture of JUUL (the most popular vaping device at the time) as a type of e-cigarette. More than one-third couldn’t recognize the device at all.