Roughly 40 percent of Riverhead Middle School students believe vaping is not harmful to their health, according to data collected last year by the Riverhead Youth Coalition, a group of students in grades seven through 12 whose goal is to prevent drug and alcohol abuse among youth. READ
A new vaping prevention program is being piloted in Suffolk County schools, County Executive Steve Bellone announced Tuesday.
Citing an “alarming rise” in teenagers who use e-cigarettes, the program, Vape Out, will launch in four Suffolk County school districts Jan. 30. READ
Here’s what everyone needs to know about nicotine in any form, according to county health department commissioner Dr. James Tomarken: “Nicotine is a highly addictive drug and recent research suggests nicotine exposure may also prime the brain to become addicted to other substances. We all know the younger one starts the easier it is to get addicted, the longer they’ll be addicted and the harder it is to stop the addiction.”
Dr. Tomarken and other health experts are also concerned that electronic cigarettes, which contain liquid nicotine, are being targeted bu manufacturers to “very young” children. (more…)
Medical professionals are concerned e-cigarettes have been glamorized and targeted toward young people. (Credit: Getty images stock)
High school students sometimes notice classmates slyly puffing away — in class — behind a book, blowing smoke into their sleeves.
During a fire drill on a brisk day, some brazen students might even sneak a smoke out in the open, believing teachers and principals will mistake the small clouds as exhaled cold air.
Sure, teenagers are still huddling in obvious areas like bathrooms or just off school grounds to light up, but most of them aren’t using a lighter to smoke a butt. They’re “vaping” with electronic cigarettes. And schools are finding that the devices are becoming more popular among students than traditional cigarettes.