What This Story Is About
- Health officials in Bowling Green, including a health educator with the Barren River District Health Department, are warning parents that tobacco companies are using targeted marketing tactics.
Why It Matters
- Teen brains are not fully developed until around age 25, and nicotine use during this period harms brain development, according to Health Educator Lisa Johnson. She also said the earlier someone becomes addicted, the longer the addiction tends to last.
For Context
- The tobacco industry has targeted teens for decades, citing internal company documents dating back to the 1920s that show a focus on attracting young smokers, according to the American Heart Association.
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) – Health officials are warning parents about the ways tobacco companies are trying to reach teens.
The tobacco industry has targeted teens for decades. Internal company documents show a focus on attracting young smokers dating back to the 1920s, according to the American Heart Association.
“Teens’ brains are not developed until they’re about age 25. So when they are using nicotine, that is going to harm their brain development. Also, we know that the earlier you become addicted, the longer that you are going to stay addicted. And using vapes also can cause you to become addicted to other substances later on in life,” said Lisa Johnson, health educator for the Barren River District Health Department.
Social media advertising
A new tactic tobacco companies are using to hook teens includes social media advertisements showing other teens using vape products, to make vaping look cool and socially normal.
“As I’ve heard from teens that they see these advertisements on social media, especially Instagram, TikTok, those sorts of things. There’s lots of advertisements specifically meant for the youth,” Johnson said.
Flavors and chemicals
Johnson said companies also offer over a thousand vape flavors that taste less harsh than traditional tobacco products. But vapes and e-cigarettes have chemicals in them that are harmful to humans.
“Formaldehyde, which we know is used to preserve dead bodies, that is one of those widely known chemicals that is in vapes. Also, lots of different small metals that have been found in vapes. And when we are putting these things in our lungs, it’s causing lots of damage. And just even with vapes and those nicotine pouches, there’s not enough research to really show the damage that it does to our body over the long term,” Johnson said.
To learn more about teen vaping and how big tobacco is targeting youth visit: www.mylifemyquit.com/en-us/tobacco-nicotine/tobacco-targets-teens/
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