The initiative aims to address an alleged teen vaping crisis affecting the state, whereby says the campaign, two out of five Idaho teenagers have tried vaping at least once. There are two parts to the campaign: the first is an hour-long documentary presenting testimonials from teens discussing their negative experiences with vaping. The second part consists of a contest for teens to produce an original 90-second anti-vape video, and possibly winning over $10,000 in prizes.
Sadly the campaign is rife with misinformation. The executive producer of the documentary for one, believes that vape companies and tobacco companies are one and the same, and she also fails to acknowledge the science proving the relative safety of vaping products.
“It’s unbelievable the billions of dollars that the big tobacco companies have spent in creating this crisis,” says executive producer Jennie Sue Weltner. She added that the idea that the products are safer alternatives to cigarettes “is absolutely not true.”
Teen vaping risks are grossly exaggerated
Meanwhile, a recent comprehensive review conducted by renowned anti-smoking researcher Professor Riccardo Polosa and colleagues, debunks fears that youth vaping may be causing an increase in youth smoking.
The review was published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, and concluded that the harm from teen vaping is greatly exaggerated. Discussing the findings on his blog page, renowned Australian tobacco harm reduction expert Dr. Colin Mendelsohn highlighted that the release of the review is timely given the regular alarmist media reports and government campaigns on vaping in Australia which have misinformed the public about the relative benefits and risks of vaping.
The review analysed teen vaping rates in the US, where local authorities have repeatedly claimed that local consumption rates have reached epidemic proportions. In the review commentary, Polosa highlights that of course young people should not vape, however he adds, despite what they are told by adults and the authorities, it is common knowledge that many will still binge drink, take illicit drugs and engage in other risky behaviours just as much.
The review looked into scientific studies indicating that vaping is significantly safer than smoking and found that while some researchers believe that vaping harms the lungs, many studies are flawed and incorrectly interpreted. Moreover, any respiratory symptoms linked to vaping “tend to be transient and of uncertain significance,” highlighted the paper.
Read Further: IdahoEdNews
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