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Corporal Brandon Jones speaks to a group of students about the dangers opioids at Istrouma High School during the Vaping Town Hall on Thursday, October 24, 2024. Javier Gallegos James Husband gives a presentation on the dangers of vaping at Istrouma High School during the Vaping Town Hall on Thursday, October 24, 2024. Javier Gallegos Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Although youth vaping is at its lowest point in a decade nationally, the practice continues to be common in Louisiana schools, where nearly 1 in 5 middle schoolers and 1 in 3 high schoolers vape .
With the persistence of vaping in Louisiana schools, local educators have started experimenting with the ways they reach young people on the issue. At one event on Thursday, Oct. 24, the Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living, or TFL, spoke with middle schoolers and high schoolers directly about why they vape and what would convince them to stop.
Gabby Armstrong, wearing alcohol impairment goggles on the left, and Amyrie Hatch, wearing opium impairment goggles on the right, struggle to complete simple puzzles while experiencing what its like to be under the influence at Istrouma High School during the Vaping Town Hall on Thursday, October 24, 2024. “I think they want to talk to us,” said Mattie Hawkins, the campaign’s regional manager for South-Central Louisiana. “They want to let us know.
” The staff sees programming focused on education and understanding as critical given the tobacco and e-cigarette industry’s history of marketing to minors, a practice that has resulted in multiple high-profile lawsuits. “The industry’s working hard to hook y’all,” said James Husband, TFL’s youth program lead, to a small group of students at Istrouma High School on Thursday. What public health educators see as effective anti-vaping messaging doesn't always translate to young people.
A 2023 study in Tobacco Control found that ads using slang or memes, for example, did not discourage teens from vaping. And mentions of flavors, even in a negative sense, increased the appeal of vaping. Istrouma Middle School eighth grader Amyrie Hatch said anti-vaping advertisements often reach people her age after they are already addicted.
“If they catch them early on, maybe they would work,” she said. New approach The gap between how adults understand vaping and how young people understand it is one reason TFL piloted a symposium-style event. The organization has held town halls featuring insights from experts, but Thursday’s outreach centered on young people’s experience.
During breakout conversation groups, adult leaders asked students how easy it would be for them to start vaping. Most of the middle school students said they knew someone — either an adult or a peer — who could get them a vaping device. Humana addiction services manager Jeny Rodrigue hands a fast food gift card to student Jam Jordan after he answered a question correctly about the dangers of vaping at Istrouma High School during the Vaping Town Hall on Thursday, October 24, 2024.
Later, the leaders asked how they could best be reached by anti-vaping messaging. The students said they wanted messaging in stores and billboards, and they thought graphic imagery, such as depictions of lungs after long-term e-cigarette use, would be effective in making vaping unappealing. “I don’t want my lungs looking like that,” said eighth grader Journey Richard, glancing back at a table displaying a blackened lung next to a healthy one.
The exhibit might have convinced her, but she said she worries about friends her age and what will happen if they don’t quit. "I think they should stop,” Richard said. “This generation is starting to get messed up.
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