DSMP: PSA on E-Cigarettes
My grandfather's brother was a chronic smoker. I was told he started very early on in his school days, when some older kids introduced it to him. He smoked every day, until the last few months of his life when his health no longer permitted it. In the end, he died of lung cancer. When the doctors did his autopsy, they found that his lungs were black from all of the tobacco residue buildup over his lifetime. Back in his time, smoking was a status symbol- associated with coolness and maturity. Aspiring to achieve that kind of reputation is probably what led him to start smoking in the first place.
Unfortunately that wave of associating nicotine products with status has returned in a more deceptive form. Within the last few years the popularity of E-cigarettes has become increasingly apparent to me as more people I know (friends and family included) begin to use it. Being in college it is not uncommon to find people vaping in casual settings, whether it be while studying or hanging out at parties. Most people I know who got into it started because others around them did, and that made it seem more appealing. As more studies come out, it is becoming clearer that e-cigarettes are no more potentially cool than they are potentially cancerous. The e-cigarette touts itself as a less harmful way to consume nicotine, attracting more and more users who believe they are indulging without the consequences. Since 2014, E-cigarettes have been the most commonly used tobacco product among U.S. adolescents (1). What started out as a fad has now become an epidemic. Most vapes contain nicotine, which is especially harmful to young people in their developmental stages. Nicotine hurts brain development and can lead to addiction in both nicotine and other drugs. The most popular brand of e-cigarettes, JUUL, uses pods which contain 20 cigarettes worth of nicotine (2). It doesn’t stop there. E-cigarettes release many harmful toxins both into the body and into the air via an aerosol- not water vapor- that can contain harmful substances such as nicotine, cancer-causing chemicals, volatile organic compounds, ultrafine particles, flavorings that have been linked to lung disease, and heavy metals such as nickel, tin, and lead (1). The lack of awareness combined with the ignorance of popular culture makes for a pretty deadly cocktail. The PSA posters I have designed aim to capture the urgency of is required to address this expanding problem and address youth in a way that is accessible.
Sources:
1. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/pdfs/OSH-E-Cigarettes-and-Youth-What-Educators-and-Coaches-Need-to-Know-20190327-508.pdf?s_cid=osh-stu-feature-b2s-2019-002
2. https://truthinitiative.org/research-resources/emerging-tobacco-products/6-important-facts-about-juul
Unfortunately that wave of associating nicotine products with status has returned in a more deceptive form. Within the last few years the popularity of E-cigarettes has become increasingly apparent to me as more people I know (friends and family included) begin to use it. Being in college it is not uncommon to find people vaping in casual settings, whether it be while studying or hanging out at parties. Most people I know who got into it started because others around them did, and that made it seem more appealing. As more studies come out, it is becoming clearer that e-cigarettes are no more potentially cool than they are potentially cancerous. The e-cigarette touts itself as a less harmful way to consume nicotine, attracting more and more users who believe they are indulging without the consequences. Since 2014, E-cigarettes have been the most commonly used tobacco product among U.S. adolescents (1). What started out as a fad has now become an epidemic. Most vapes contain nicotine, which is especially harmful to young people in their developmental stages. Nicotine hurts brain development and can lead to addiction in both nicotine and other drugs. The most popular brand of e-cigarettes, JUUL, uses pods which contain 20 cigarettes worth of nicotine (2). It doesn’t stop there. E-cigarettes release many harmful toxins both into the body and into the air via an aerosol- not water vapor- that can contain harmful substances such as nicotine, cancer-causing chemicals, volatile organic compounds, ultrafine particles, flavorings that have been linked to lung disease, and heavy metals such as nickel, tin, and lead (1). The lack of awareness combined with the ignorance of popular culture makes for a pretty deadly cocktail. The PSA posters I have designed aim to capture the urgency of is required to address this expanding problem and address youth in a way that is accessible.
Sources:
1. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/pdfs/OSH-E-Cigarettes-and-Youth-What-Educators-and-Coaches-Need-to-Know-20190327-508.pdf?s_cid=osh-stu-feature-b2s-2019-002
2. https://truthinitiative.org/research-resources/emerging-tobacco-products/6-important-facts-about-juul
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