As the number of teenagers vaping across the United States continues to rise, many school districts in West Michigan are taking measures to educate families about the dangers of addiction, including the Baldwin Community Schools.
TalkSooner is an organization dedicated to helping parents and teenagers understand the dangers of drug abuse. They are currently working in collaboration with Baldwin School to educate and facilitate discussions on the topic of teen use of electronic cigarettes.
This organization is a cooperative organization between Allegan County, Berrien County, Kent County, Muskegon County, and Ottawa County in western Michigan. It is coordinated by the West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission (now known as the West Michigan Shoreline Regional Entity).
Recently, the organization partnered with the Baldwin Community School to launch a new education tool that will serve those who can provide information on e-cigarette use for teenagers.
This vehicle made its debut in the area on August 24th. The car displays information in English on one side and in Spanish on the other side through TalkSooner.
According to data from the 2018 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS), the use of electronic cigarettes among current middle and high school students increased by 48% between 2017 and 2018. As of 2018, over 3.6 million children are currently using electronic cigarettes.
Griffin stated, "If you look at smoking, we almost didn't see the number of people smoking in the 50s and 60s because we not only had prevention, but education," Griffin said. "We now know smoking brings harm and can change our lives. We hope to ensure that we take the same measures for children who start vaping at 13 or 14 years old, to catch and quit this habit early or at least make them aware of the dangers that come with it.
On June 4, 2019, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed Senate Bills 106 and 155, prohibiting the sale and possession of electronic cigarettes to anyone under the age of 18. In December of the same year, federal legislation was signed, raising the legal age to purchase or use tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, to 21. Despite these measures, many remain skeptical of the number of young students still using e-cigarettes.
Griffin has seen firsthand how difficult it is for parents to talk to teenagers about using e-cigarettes after her own child used them. "Preventative education seems to be the most important, not just for your physical health, but also for your mental and overall well-being," she said. "Even in the most educated households, there is still susceptibility to the pressures of e-cigarettes and such. I always encourage parents to have open conversations with their children, discussing their own struggles or choices made by young people. I also suggest trying to find out why they are interested in e-cigarettes or the root cause of their decision to use them.
In September 2018, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent over 1,300 warning letters and civil monetary penalties to retailers illegally selling e-cigarette products to minors, with the majority being blu, JUUL, Logic, MarkTen XL, and Vuse; this marked the FDA's largest coordinated enforcement effort to date.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some e-cigarette products have labels that do not disclose that they contain nicotine, while some e-cigarette liquids marketed as containing 0% nicotine have been found to contain nicotine.
Using nicotine during adolescence can damage the parts of the brain that control attention, learning, emotions, and impulse control, and may also impair brain development in teenagers. This damage can persist into the mid-20s.
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