Welcome to Monday Matters! Spread awareness to help important causes and start your week off right by making a difference each Monday, even if that is just to pin, tweet, or share to pass this information on. Join the Monday Matters blog hop after this post and add your favorite causes or posts about helping or giving.
Parents, talk to your kids about vaping.
Join in our efforts to educate Californians by sharing this important information.
E-cigarettes and Youth
Since the release of last year’s State Health Officer’s Report on E-Cigarettes: A Community Threat, research has continued to prove the alarming rise in youth and young adults’ use of e-cigarettes
- Escalating use of e-cigarettes by youth is hitting home in California. According to recently released California Healthy Kids Survey data, middle and high school teens are currently using e-cigarettes at much higher rates than traditional cigarettes: Seventh graders: 8% use e-cigarettes vs.3% smoking cigarettes; ninth graders: 13% use e-cigarettes vs. 5% smoke cigarettes; and eleventh graders: 16% use e-cigarettes vs. 9% smoke cigarettes.
- Nearly 7 in 10 U.S. middle and high school students (18.3 million) were exposed to e-cigarette advertisements. The three brands with the highest advertising expenditure in 2014 — MarkTen, blu, and Vuse — are all owned by the big tobacco companies.
- In a survey conducted by Yale Researchers, appealing flavors was one of the top reasons students experimented with e-cigarettes. E-liquids come in a variety of flavors like Fruit Loops and Cap’n Crunch that are enticing to youth.
- Mounting longitudinal studies show the connection between e-cigarette use leading to cigarette smoking in teens and young adults.
What Can You Do As a Parent?
As a parent, you are the first step in preventing the next generation of smokers. But, it’s often tough to know how to talk to your kids about a product or subject that is constantly evolving. Below are some tips on what you can do to educate and keep your children safe from the risks associated with e-cigarettes and vaping.
Tips for talking to your kids about vaping:
- Talk to your kids. E-cigarettes are purposefully designed to appeal to a younger audience with fruit and, candy flavored “e-juice” marketed by celebrities. Have a conversation with your children clarifying that while commercials make e-cigarettes appear safe and trendy, there are many known health threats that accompany vaping.
- Set Expectations. Express disappointment, rather than anger, toward the idea of your children vaping. Let them know that nicotine and the other chemicals found in e-cigarettes are dangerous and could be a gateway to smoking traditional cigarettes.
- Be a role model. E-cigarettes are everywhere today, and kids are receiving an abundance of exposure through advertisements, smoke shops and friends. If you are a smoker and are using e-cigarettes to help you quit, avoid vaping around your kids. The more they see you, the more legitimate your actions and behavior will appear to them.
- Remove the threat. The candy and fruit flavors of e-cigarettes greatly appeal to children, who may mistakenly drink the e-liquid. E-liquid and e-cigarette batteries are poisonous and can be life-threatening if swallowed. If you are using e-cigarettes, never leave e-cigarettes or e-liquid where children can get them. Contact the California Poison Control System right away at 1-800-222-1222 if any e-liquid is swallowed, gets on the skin or in the eyes.
- Get Involved. Help protect youth from the potential harmful effects of e-cigarettes and e-liquid by encouraging their regulation, including the regulation of manufacturing practices, childproof packaging, and the elimination of flavors.
For more information, visit stillblowingsmoke.org.
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It sickens me that Fruit Loops is one of the flavors. Clearly that’s meant to attract kids! Thanks for sharing this information. I have to admit, it wasn’t something I’d considered and I’m glad now I can address it BEFORE it’s a problem in our family.