On this page you will find current information and tips and tools from reputable resources to help parents, caregivers, and educators understand and prevent vaping. What can parents do to curtail use? Talk early and talk often with your child about vaping. To access vaping facts and information specifically curated for teens, click on the button below. Scroll to the bottom of this page to find a link to a substance use prevention page. It’s never too early or too late to have the discussion. For instructions to view this website in Spanish, click on en Español.

Families Connected Resources

Featured video

 

Watch the full presentation of pro surfer Alex Gray’s assemblies that reached thousands of students in the South Bay. To learn more about the tour and read attendees reactions and Easy Reader and Daily Breeze articles about the tour, visit our blog, Turning the Tide on the Vaping Epidemic with Alex Gray.

 
 

Vaping trends

The Juul E-Cigarette Ban: Will It Make a Difference?

In late June 2022, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ordered Juul Labs Inc. to remove all of its e-cigarettes from the U.S. market, a move applauded by many concerned about e-cigarette use among youth. (Soon after, a U.S. court of appeals granted the company an emergency stay, temporarily blocking the FDA’s order. Then, in early July, the FDA temporarily paused its order because of "scientific issues unique to the Juul application that warrant additional review.” (Yale Medicine)

History

In 2018, vaping had been declared a national health crisis. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the increase in vaping by youth in 2018 was the largest ever recorded for any substance in the 44 years that it has tracked adolescent drug use. Results from the 2023 Annual National Youth Tobacco Survey, from the FDA show that among U.S. high school students, current overall tobacco product use declined during 2022-2023 (16.5% to 12.6%). This decline was primarily driven by e-cigarettes (14.1% to 10.0%), which translates to 580,000 fewer high school students who currently used e-cigarettes in 2023. Although a decrease in e-cigarette use was observed among high school students, there was an increase in current overall tobacco product use among middle school students (4.5% to 6.6%) and multiple tobacco product use (1.5% to 2.5%).

E-cigarette basics

E-cigarettes are devices that heat a liquid into an aerosol that the user inhales. The liquid usually has nicotine and flavoring in it, and other additives. Just like regular cigarettes, the nicotine in e-cigarettes is highly addictive. E-cigarettes are considered tobacco products because most of them deliver nicotine.

Besides nicotine, e-cigarettes can contain harmful and potentially harmful ingredients, including:

  • ultrafine particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs

  • flavorants such as diacetyl, a chemical linked to serious lung disease

  • volatile organic compounds

  • heavy metals, such as nickel, tin, and lead



 

Related resources for parents and guardians

 

Resources for teens

Curated Gallery of Resources

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Parents: Answers to Your Questions and Prevention Tools

The Surgeon General’s e-cigarette webpage offers parents an overview of the facts, information on how nicotine affects the teen brain, the trends in use, and the general health risks. Their Tip Sheet for Parents is an excellent in-depth resource. The Cyber Cop and Total Safety Solutions offers an abbreviated version of the CDC’s tip sheet.

 

Partnership For Drug Free Kids offers a comprehensive resource guide that will explain the culture of vaping, what the current research says, and how to have difficult conversations about vaping or juuling with your child. Click on the image to download this helpful pdf.

 

Stanford University provides an information page that describes what these products are and why they pose a health hazard to youth. Here you will also find outstanding evidence-based educational materials for educators and parents. 

 

The Centers for Disease Control’s e-cigarette page describes these products and their negative health effects. On this website you will also find up-to-date statistics, youth tobacco prevention resources, and more.

Recommended Vaping Articles

Source; Surgeon General (click on image to enlarge)

 

Produced by David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA

Produced by Tobacco Free CA

Produced by Teen Radio

Prevention Campaigns Written for Youth

As a parent, you might hear, "It's not smoking, it's vaping!"  Or, "Don't worry. It's just juice." Our kids are being told from different sources that vaping is not as bad for them, or even harmless, relative to smoking. They need to know that with any marketing, they should always be skeptical of the information presented.

 

Smoking Cessation Help

Access the Smoke Free Teen page to download quitStart, a free smartphone app for teens who want to quit smoking, as well helpful online tools for quitting, an online chat and phone number to connect you with an expert, 

For More Youth Wellness Resources, Visit:

 

For South Bay parents and caregivers

Go to South Bay Families Connected’s landing page to view a local events, the Teen Resource Center, to sign-up for the SBFC monthly parent e-newsletter, and more.

 

For parents and caregivers in the U.S.A.

Visit the Families Connected landing page for non-region-specific, free youth wellness online resources.