During the 1930’s, cigarette companies used doctors to help advertise their products as an attempt to downplay the health risks of smoking and persuade consumers to smoke. Today, the effects of smoking are known to cause health problems and doctors do not promote the habit. Tobacco is the number one cause of preventable death.
Currently, there are new products on the market, designed to create a new generation of smokers, e-cigarettes. They are also called e-cigs, e-hookahs, mods, vape pens, vapes, tank systems, and electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS).
E-cigarettes produce an aerosol by heating a liquid that usually contains nicotine, an addictive drug and other toxic chemicals that have been linked to cause cancer and lung disease. Users and bystanders inhale this aerosol into their lungs.
“E-cigarettes have become an increasing problem among youth,” said Jeff Cicerchi, principal of North Royalton Middle School. “The middle school has made efforts to educate our students about these devices and their risks, so they can make positive decisions and encourage others to do the same.”
“Part of the appeal to youth is the candy-flavored e-liquid,” said Sheri Stafford, community liaison for the Partnership for a Healthy North Royalton and participant in the Cuyahoga Tobacco Collaborate, a consortium of local community members dedicated in helping reduce the use to tobacco. “There are thousands of flavors to choose from.”
Studies suggest that youth who use e-cigs may be more likely to switch to smoking traditional cigarettes. E-cigs can also be used to smoke illicit drugs, like marijuana. Devices can look like a traditional cigarette or resemble a USB drive.
During a middle school assembly of seventh graders, James Cotton, a former Ohio State Buckeye and professional football player, shared the importance of a tobacco-free lifestyle by illustrating the short and long-term effects of tobacco use.
While at The Ohio State, he was voted by his coaches as the team’s Most Outstanding Lineman by leading the team in sacks and tackles for loss. He played eight years of professional football, including stops with the Atlanta Falcons, Buffalo Bills, XFL (New York/New Jersey Hitmen), Canadian Football League Calgary Stampeders (2001 Grey Cup Champion), and the Hamilton Tigercats. “My most memorable moment was being the last player to sack Tom Brady twice in the Big House,” said Cotton.
“Although Cotton’s football career is impressive, his most outstanding accomplishment is his positive, drug-free lifestyle and promoting that to impressionable youth,” said Lisa Sprunger, a seventh-grade teacher. “The students were given the opportunity to ask questions and even had the chance to grab an autograph.”
The outcomes of the assembly were for students to gain a better understanding that tobacco is addictive and unhealthy, to be better at resisting peer pressure to experiment with e-cigarettes, and to become teen influencers and help others to not vape.
During his presentation, Cotton talked about how peer pressure never goes away, even in adulthood. He resisted peer pressure because he loved himself more than hurting himself. He said, “Show me your top 5 friends, and I will show you your future.”
Cotton states essential life skills are developed over time. They are not something you are born with. He shares his keys to success: commitment, discipline and self-worth. “These skills are something to practice,” he stated.