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Tag: teens and vaping

  • Doctors Use "TikTok" To Teach Teens About Vaping Dangers

    Doctors Use "TikTok" To Teach Teens About Vaping Dangers

    Medical officials are harnessing the power of social media to talk to teens about important health issues and to dispel medical myths.

    Figuring out a way to reach teens has been an ongoing issue for medical professionals, teachers and parents for decades. But now, a handful of doctors have found a very modern solution to raising awareness and educating teens and it’s a popular app called TikTok.

    What Is TikTok?

    The app, which Slate describes as a “social network for amateur music videos,” allows users to express themselves in 15-second clips that they can then upload for their followers to see.

    Dr. Rose Marie Leslie uses the app to inform teens about the health impact of e-cigarettes and other medical misinformation. For Dr. Leslie, it’s important to dispel harmful health myths which are becoming more widespread thanks to the Internet. 

    “I may not be the perfect health guru on social media,” Dr. Leslie told CNBC. “I don’t meditate or do yoga, I rarely get enough sleep, I’m not vegan and I don’t post inspirational quotes. But let me tell you, I have never and will never try to convince you that drinking celery juice cures cancer.”

    Dr. Leslie, who can be found on the app under @DrLeslie, practices family medicine at the University of Minnesota. Her TikTok videos have put a spotlight on vaping illnesses, birth control and she even busts medical myths for her 300,000 TikTok followers.

    Dr. Leslie is happy that her videos are making a positive impacts on teens’ lives. She regularly receives letters, emails and comments from teens thanking her for helping them understand the issues. She also receives a number of medical questions that some teens are afraid to ask the adults in their lives. 

    The Power Of Social Media

    Dr. Austin Chiang is also a big believer in the power of social media. He uses Twitter, Instagram and TikTok to help young doctors and to educate the public on how vaccines work. 

    Public health experts see the use of social media in medicine as an overall positive thing. 

    “I’ve heard the criticism that doctors and other medical professionals on social media are somehow less credible, or won’t be taken as seriously by their peers,” said Sherry Pagoto, a behavioral scientist and professor at the Department of Allied Health Sciences at the University of Connecticut. “But I think that school of thought is going to be a thing of the past.”

    Pagoto added that “it would be great for public health organizations to follow the lead of these medical professionals on TikTok.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Teens Hospitalized For Vaping-Related Breathing Problems 

    Teens Hospitalized For Vaping-Related Breathing Problems 

    The teens were experiencing shortness of breath, chest pain, nausea and diarrhea, among other symptoms.

    Eight teenagers in Wisconsin were hospitalized in July with breathing issues that doctors believe are related to their use of e-cigarettes, or vapes. 

    The teens were admitted to the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, which held a press conference about the cases. The hospital’s chief medical officer, Dr. Michael Gutzeit, spoke about the teens. 

    “We suspect that these injuries were caused by vaping,” he said, according to CNN Health.

    The teens were experiencing shortness of breath, chest pain, nausea and diarrhea, among other symptoms. When they underwent chest X-rays, doctors found that the teens had swollen and inflamed lungs. 

    “The severity of health condition has varied, with some patients needing assistance in order to breathe,” Gutzeit said. He noted that the teens are all improving, but the conditions were concerning given that vaping is so popular among young people. 

    Vaping Risks

    Many teenagers believe that vapes are relatively harmless. However, the “e-liquids” that is being vaporized contain nicotine, chemicals and sometimes heavy metals that can be harmful. Gutzeit said it is important that teenagers and their parents understand and talk about the risks of vaping. 

    “It’s very important for teens and parents to understand more about vaping. Talk to each other. Understand the risks of vaping,” he said.

    While teen cigarette use continues to decline, vaping is becoming more popular. Research shows that 20% of high schoolers and 5% of middle schoolers use e-cigarettes. The rate of vape use increased by more than 900% between 2011 and 2015, research has found. 

    Recently, the e-cigarette company Juul, which controls 70% of the U.S. market for e-cigarettes, hired a pediatrician and researcher as its executive medical officer. The company claimed that the appointment of Dr. Mark Rubinstein was a way to ensure that young people are not using vapes, but some are worried that the company has ulterior motives. 

    “Even if you believe in harm reduction, to go work for a tobacco company… to me goes against everything that anybody doing control should believe in,” Stanford University professor Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, who trained Rubinstein during his time at UCSF, told Kaiser Health News.

    Opponents of e-cigarettes say that since their popularity has been rising so quickly, it’s imperative that the public understand the health risks of vapes, particularly for young people. 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • FDA Rolls Out Anti-Vaping PSAs Aimed At Young Viewers

    FDA Rolls Out Anti-Vaping PSAs Aimed At Young Viewers

    The anti-vaping PSAs will run on TV networks with younger viewers such as TeenNick and ESPN, as well as on social media and music streaming sites.

    A new television advertising campaign by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) aims to educate young people about the potential dangers of e-cigarette use and “vaping.”

    In an announcement on July 22, the FDA kicked off a new set of “The Real Cost” public service announcements, which hope to highlight the increased potential for e-cigarette users to transition to traditional cigarettes.

    The new ads will run on television networks that appeal to younger audiences like TeenNick and ESPN, as well as on social media and music streaming sites.

    The Real Cost ads feature popular street magician Julius Dein. In the two spots, Dein transforms a young observer’s e-cigarette into a cigarette before his eyes. The intent is to underscore statistics that show that young people who use e-cigarettes are more prone to trying conventional cigarettes. 

    Teen Vaping Epidemic

    The FDA noted in its announcement that this likelihood of transitioning to tobacco products is particularly alarming due to data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) which show that in 2018, more than 3.6 million middle and high school students in the United States had used an e-cigarette product within the last 30 days. Those numbers reflect an increase of 1.5 million students from data provided in 2017, as well as increases in both the frequency of e-cigarette use and the number of flavored vape products.

    Scholastic Joins The Cause

    The campaign will also encompass prevention messages on posters to be distributed through the children’s publishing and education company Scholastic to all public and private high schools in the United States. The posters will deliver messages that highlight the potentially toxic contents of vaping products, which can include lead, nickel and chromium, which can pose serious health risks including increased risk of cancer.

    The Real Cost TV spots are part of a larger, nearly $60 million public education campaign that was launched in September 2018 with advertising on digital and social media sites and posters in high schools across the nation that targeted about 10.7 million young people ages 12-17. As Acting FDA Commissioner Ned Sharpless, MD, noted, “The new ads, as part of our youth campaign, highlight one of the many alarming aspects of youth e-cigarette use—that, according to emerging science, teens who vape are more likely to start smoking cigarettes, putting them at risk of a lifetime of addiction to smoking and related disease.”

    In a statement to ABC News, a spokesperson for Juul, one of the leading manufacturers of e-cigarette products, said, “We share these concerns about youth vaping, which is why we have taken the most aggressive actions of anyone in the industry to combat youth usage.”

    These efforts have included support for legislation that would raise the legal smoking age to 21 and the closure of Juul’s Facebook and Instagram accounts in the United States.

    View the original article at thefix.com