Dear Editor,
As a parent of three children who grew up in small town USA, I have a great concern for our youth in the community. A few years ago, I was hired to work on the Tobacco Use Reduction Program with Plumas County Public Health Agency. Shortly after beginning my position, I started to hear parents talking about how the doors to the bathrooms at the junior senior high school had been taken off. Surely, I was hearing incorrectly.
For a couple of years now, the bathroom doors have been removed (not the doors to the bathroom stalls). Why, you ask? Well, I will gladly share. We have a vaping epidemic happening in our schools. Even the elementary students have fallen prey to the tobacco companies’ schemes to gain new customers.
This is the real deal. Your children, my children, our children have been targeted to increase revenue to BIG TOBACCO!
What are we going to do about this? I have a few suggestions.
Talk to your children. Ask questions. Know the facts about the dangers of vaping and other forms of tobacco use. Understand why they are doing it. Be ready to listen.
Often a child wants desperately to quit using tobacco, but frankly they are addicted. This is the truth. It only takes a person a couple of drags of a vape to become addicted. Nicotine is more addictive than heroine and e-cigarettes can be more addictive than regular cigarettes. Ever speak to someone trying to quit vaping? It is extremely difficult. Most often it will take an average of 6 to 8 attempts to stop. Imagine being a young person trying to hide the need to vape on a regular basis, and not knowing how to get help.
I want to let everyone reading this know that the youth who are vaping are not bad kids. Let me say that again, they are not bad kids. They need our help. They need parents, guardians, coaches, teachers, mentors, leaders and other caring people to support them.
In our community there are several resources available:
California Health Collaborative, Smoke Free High Country
Public Health Tobacco Use Reduction Program
School District Tobacco Use Program Educator
Your local medical provider
I truly believe in our small communities. I believe in the power of support for one another. If we work together to create policies that enforce the laws and create a safe place for youth to seek help, we will win this battle.
Regina Martinez
Smoke Free High Country
rmartinez@healthcollaborative.org