While we have all heard about the dangers of smoking cigarettes, vaping is what is really on the rise, especially among teenagers. Amy Taylor, Chief of Community Engagement for Truth Initiative, and Giana Darville, a Truth Initiative Youth Board Liaison, are making a push to declare youth nicotine vaping as a mental health issue.
“We are at a collision course right between two serious issues that are affecting young people,” says Taylor. “The first is the mental health crisis. Young people are feeling depressed and anxious and stressed in a way that we haven't seen in generations. On top of that, we have a vaping crisis, more than 2 million high school students are currently vaping.”
In a new survey conducted by the Truth Initiative, 93% of vapors say that it negatively impacts their mental health.
“We were at the National Mall talking to members of the White House after talking to members at the Department of Health and Human Services about the intersection of mental health and nicotine vaping,” says Darville. “We were able to actually do some breathing exercises, as an act of self-care and activism to reclaim our breath in the face of predatory industries that are marketing us things that can make these feelings worse, as things that can make us feel better.”
For more information and resources to help quit vaping, text ACTIONS (88709) to get involved or text DITCHVAPE (2887092)
This Inside South Florida segment is paid by Truth Initiative
