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| Fillmore Reality Check members Tara Beckhorn, Hannah Wilcox, and Aurora Kraft. |
E-cigarette use among teens is on the rise, creating an
emerging public health concern. Since New York State health officials began
tracking e-cigarette use in 2014, use by high school students increased from
10.5 percent to 27.4 percent in 2018. New national data shows that vaping among
high schoolers jumped 78 percent from last year, with middle school vaping
increasing by 48 percent.
The high school senior vaping rate in Allegany County is
38.5 percent, which is 2 percent higher than the New York State average.
Jonathan Chaffee, Reality Check Youth Coordinator at
Tobacco-Free Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany Counties (TF-CCA), says young
people’s attraction to vapes has to do largely with the fruity flavors they
come in.
“Kids and parents: Don’t let sweet talking messages and
flavors like mint, crème and mango from Juul fool you,” said Chaffee. “Each
JUUL pod delivers the same amount of addictive nicotine as20 cigarettes.”
Chaffee also noted that young people who vape are four times
more likely to use traditional cigarettes in the future.
The most popular e-cigarette manufacturer, JUUL, has played
a major role in the youth vaping epidemic. The company, which is partially
owned by Big Tobacco company Altria, never submitted its products to the
independent, clinical testing needed to clearly understand the products’ long-term
effects.
GASO was established in 1976 to get smokers to quit for one
day and make a plan to quit for good.
Reality Check, a teen-led, adult-run program, educates the
community on youth smoking and vaping, the deceptive marketing tactics of the
tobacco industry, and how policies can change social norms around tobacco sales
and use. For more information on Reality Check, visit www.realitycheckofny.com.
