QuitDoc Foundation in Levy County EXPOSES Tobacco Industry Manipulation and Dangers of Youth Nicotine Use for World No Tobacco Day
May 29, 2020
Levy County, Fla. —The QuitDoc Foundation is educating residents in Levy County on the dangers of youth nicotine use and the manipulative tactics used by tobacco companies for this year’s World No Tobacco Day. The World Health Organization (WHO) sponsors World No Tobacco Day annually, around the world on May 31. This year’s theme is “Protecting youth from industry manipulation and preventing them from tobacco and nicotine use.”
The Tobacco Free Partnership of Levy County and the Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT) program are spreading awareness for World No Tobacco Day virtually this year, through social media and by sharing resources with partners and stakeholders. SWAT members continue to educate their peers about vaping through their “Not A Lab Rat” Campaign, which seeks to empower young people to stand up and declare that they refuse to be Big Tobacco’s “lab rats” as we wait and see the long-term health effects of vaping. In addition to their efforts, the partnership is working on community education about changing local policies to reduce youth access to these products at the retail point of sale.
Youth vaping has become an alarming public health threat in Florida and here in Levy County. In 2019, one in four of Florida high school students reported current use of electronic cigarettes.[1] E-cigarettes typically contain nicotine, which is highly addictive.[2] Youth may be more sensitive to nicotine and feel dependent on nicotine sooner compared to adults.[3],[4],[5] The brain continues to develop until the early to mid-20s and the developing brain is more vulnerable to the negative effects of nicotine. Evidence suggests that youth who use e-cigarettes may be at greater risk of starting to smoke regular cigarettes.[6],[7],[8],[9]
“Youth tobacco and nicotine prevention continues to be a top priority in Levy County,” said Kristina Zachry, the Levy Community Health Advocate for the QuitDoc Foundation. “E-cigarette companies claim that their products are intended for adults, but prevalence rates among teens are skyrocketing. According to the 2018 Florida Youth Tobacco Survey, 28.8% of Levy County youth ages 11-17 report ever trying electronic vaping. Our Tobacco Free Partnership is concerned about youth access to these products, because we know that the flavors appeal to youth and they are being found daily in the hands of Levy’s youth.”
Parents and educators should: advise youth of the dangers of nicotine; discourage youth tobacco use in any form, including e-cigarettes; and set a positive example by being tobacco free themselves. Tobacco Free Florida is taking steps to educate Floridians about this troubling epidemic through social media campaigns and an educational blog post, which can be found at tobaccofreeflorida.com on World No Tobacco Day and year-round.
About Tobacco Free Florida The Florida Department of Health’s Tobacco Free Florida campaign is a statewide cessation and prevention campaign funded by Florida’s tobacco settlement fund. Since the program began in 2007, more than 234,000 Floridians have successfully quit using one of Tobacco Free Florida's free tools and services. There are now approximately 451,000 fewer adult smokers in Florida than there was 10 years ago, and the state has saved $17.7 billion in health care costs.[10] To learn more about Tobacco Free Florida’s Quit Your Way services, visit www.tobaccofreeflorida.com or follow the campaign on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TobaccoFreeFlorida or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/tobaccofreefla.
REFERENCES:
[1] Florida Youth Tobacco Survey (FYTS), Florida Department of Health, Bureau of Epidemiology, 2019.
[2] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. E-Cigarette Use Among Youth and Young Adults. A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2016.
[3] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. E-Cigarette Use Among Youth and Young Adults. A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2016.
[4] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking: 50 Years of Progress. A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2014. Printed with corrections, January 2014.
[5] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2012.
[6] Berry KM, Fetterman JL, Benjamin EJ, et al. Association of Electronic Cigarette Use With Subsequent Initiation of Tobacco Cigarettes in US Youths. JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(2):e187794. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.7794
[7] Miech R, Patrick ME, O'Malley PM, et al E-cigarette use as a predictor of cigarette smoking: results from a 1-year follow-up of a national sample of 12th grade students Tobacco Control 2017;26:e106-e111.
[8] National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Public Health Consequences of E-Cigarettes. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/24952.
[9] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. E-Cigarette Use Among Youth and Young Adults. A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2016.
[10]Mann, Nathan M, Nonnemaker, James M., Thompson, Jesse. "Smoking-Attributable Health Care Costs in Florida and Potential Health Care Cost Savings Associated with Reductions in Adult Smoking Prevalence." 2016.
Contact:
Kristina Zachry, MPH
352-577-4309
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