NY State Dept. of Health Cracks Down on Youth Vaping

The people at the New York State Department of Health are trying to help young people from vaping in the state. They've noticed that our youth are into puffing on e-cigarettes compared to older adults.

In 2022, under 19% of high schoolers in New York State were caught up in the vaping craze. In 2023, about 10% of Broome and Tioga students 'fessed up to vaping in the last month. Those stats came from surveys done by the Prevention Coalition of Broome County and the Tioga County Advocacy, Support, and Prevention Coalition.

A national survey from 2022 found out that more than half of young vapers are looking to kick the habit. So, the Department of Health has come up with some tools like posters, palm cards, and rack cards in English and Spanish for middle and high schools.

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They want to spread the word about "This is Quitting," a free text service that keeps things quiet and helps people quit vaping. They're also shouting out the New York State Smokers' Quitline for backup.

E-cigarettes are all the rage among high schoolers in NY. Nearly 1 in 5 of these young people were caught vaping nicotine, while only about 1 in 50 were still smoking cigarettes in 2022 – a record low. There's a suspicion that kids who vape now might turn into cigarette smokers down the road.

"This is Quitting" is like a secret quitting club for youngsters aged 13-24. It's all about sending them motivational texts to help them steer clear of vaping. Created by Truth Initiative with the help of young people who want to quit, these messages are all about the highs and lows of kicking the habit.

Over 600,000 youth across the nation have already found their way out with "This is Quitting." To hop on this quitting train, all you have to do is text “DropTheVape” to 88709.