Weekly Social Marketing Sighting by Nancy R. Lee
President, Social Marketing Services, Inc.
Affiliate Instructor, University of Washington
Strategic Advisor, C+C
Social Issue: Vaping
Social Marketing Strategy: Influential Messenger
Where Sighted: NPR Broadcast & Website
Behavior: Talk to Your Kids About Vaping
The story was focused on having a conversation with your children about vaping early, and included specific questions to ask.
For an elementary school-aged child: Ask them if they’ve heard about e-cigarettes or vaping in health class in school, and if so, what they learned about them. Then explain that e-cigarettes contain a lot of dangerous chemicals that can hurt your brain and body.
For a middle schooler: Start the conversation by explaining that you read an article about how some middle schoolers are using vapes. Then ask if they’ve ever seen anyone vape at school and what they think about that.
For teens: As they get older, share more details about its health impacts. Vaping is linked to wheezing symptoms and lung injuries, says Camenga. Some substances found in e-cigarette aerosols have been linked to an increased risk for cancer. And we don’t know the long-term effects of vaping on adolescent health and development, she adds.
Photo by Chandhu Panackal.