Empowering Parents to Understand and End the Vaping Epidemic

According to recent research by the American Journal of Public Health, there’s a decrease in e-cigarette use by teens. That’s good news, as vaping increases a person’s chance of experiencing complications from upper respiratory illnesses and some researchers believe  a relationship exists between vaping and COVID-19 patients. While the decrease in vaping should be recognized, the fact remains that one child is too many. There is yet work to be done.

Families play a critical role in influencing a child’s decision-making. Parents and guardians can help keep their kids healthy by having thoughtful, factual conversations about the dangers of vaping. For help getting started, parents and guardians can turn to no-cost digital tools from Be Vape Free – a nationwide initiative providing standards-aligned e-cigarette prevention resources for educators teaching grades 5-12 and families. Be Vape Free was created in partnership with the CVS Health Foundation, CATCH Global Foundation, and Discovery Education.

The parent toolkit is designed to give parents/guardians, educators, and community members the opportunity to learn more about the vaping epidemic, gauge a child's risk of trying e-cigarettes, and find the best strategy to talk to kids about the dangers of e-cigarettes. Chock-full of facts and research, these resources have everything families need to empower students to live a healthy life. With the toolkit, families can answer key questions related to vaping including:

• What is vaping?

• Why do teens vape?

• What do vapes look like?

• What are in vapes?

• What are the impacts of vaping?

• What are signs of vaping?

With this informational foundation, parents and guardians can connect with their kids to initiate conversations about the dangers of e-cigarettes based on facts. Together – one conversation, one day, and one student at a time – we can end the vaping epidemic by arming young people with the tools they need to make healthy, smart decisions, and impart lessons that last a lifetime.