Student advocate raises the alarm on vaping among high schoolers
To the community:
There is an epidemic besides COVID-19 going on, that’s the youth vaping epidemic.
The 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey shows that about 50% of Vermont’s high school students have used an electronic vapor product. In Washington County, 53% of high school students said they have used them. Diving deeper, 26.4% of Vermont’s youth were currently vaping at the time of the survey. That’s more than double the use since the 2017 survey that found 12% of the respondents using the products. In Washington County, even more youth - 29% - said they were vaping at the time of the survey.
Electronic vapor products are tobacco products that are non-combustible and deliver nicotine by electronic means. They also are called e-cigarettes. This includes brands such as JUUL, PUFF Bar, and more.
Multiple factors play into this epidemic such as flavors and direct marketing. Tobacco companies are known to directly advertise and market to youth. In the landmark 2006 U.S. District Court case United States vs. Philip Morris, U.S. District Court Judge Gladys Kessler wrote: “From the 1950s to the present, different defendants, at different times and using different methods, have intentionally marketed to young people under the age of twenty-one in order to recruit ‘replacement smokers’ to ensure the economic future of the tobacco industry.” Here, “defendants” refers to tobacco companies.
Another factor is the flavors being sold, there are more than 15,000 e-cigarette flavors sold on the market. According to the 2019 youth behavior survey, 27% of Vermont’s high school students have tried a flavored tobacco product. So many youth are turning to these dangerous devices and it’s easy to see why.
As the Vermont National Youth Ambassador for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the youth advocate at Central Vermont New Directions Coalition, I won’t stop fighting until this epidemic is over. I hope that you will take this information and join the fight as well. On behalf of the youth in Vermont and across the globe, we deserve so much more than a lifetime of addiction.
If you have questions or are interested in learning more, please contact me at zpickel.cvndc@gmail.com.
Zoey Pickel
Barre
A homeschooled high school senior, Zoey Pickel is the Vermont National Youth Ambassador for the Campaign For Tobacco-Free Kids and a youth advocate with the Central Vermont New Directions Coalition, a nonprofit dedicated to addressing youth substance abuse in the region.