Douglas Co. SmokeFree Campaign, Jan. 1

Despite emerging clues about the cause of vape-related illness and deaths, the cold fact remains: breathing anything other than clean air into your lungs is harmful. Let’s not be lulled by the tobacco industry into thinking vape products are safe. There are other ways we can help our friends, family and neighbors quit for good that don’t include inhaling dangerous aerosol. Governor Brown’s Executive Order to address the health risks of vaping included several important actions. The one that got the most attention was the ban on sales of flavored vape products. Even though that ban is on hold, this does NOT mean vape products are safe to use. People are still getting sick from vaping. We need to help people who use e-cigarettes quit nicotine addiction for good. Many other important parts of the Executive Order still stand – like providing increased statewide support to help people quit. Anyone in Oregon can get free counseling and FDA-approved nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) medication, like patches or gum, through the Oregon Tobacco Quit Line. Quitting addiction is hard. Studies show that receiving medication and counseling makes people twice as likely to succeed in their efforts to quit. Help is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for both youth and adults. People can reach the Quit Line through the following contacts: English: 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) or quitnow.net/Oregon; Spanish: 1-855-DÉJELO-YA (1-855-335-35692) or quitnow.net/oregonsp; Alaska Indians and Native Americans: 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669), then press “7” ; TTY: 1-877-777-6534. Here’s a critical and misunderstood fact: E-cigarettes and vape are not safe ways to quit smoking. Vape products, like Juul, contain nicotine—significant quantities in most cases. One Juul pod has as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes. These products are just another way for the tobacco industry to maintain addictions and hold on to customers. In fact, more than half of people who vape also smoke cigarettes.  Finally, we must continue to push for ways to protect kids from vape – and all tobacco. E-cigarettes and vape are highly addictive, and young people are using them at shocking rates: One in four Oregon 11th graders use e-cigarettes, a number that climbed nearly 80% in just two years. Adolescent brains are particularly susceptible to addiction, and kids who use e-cigarettes are three times as likely to start smoking as their peers who don’t vape.  Douglas Public Health Network has partnered with CHI Mercy and The Blue Zones Project-Umpqua to bring This Is Quitting, a youth and young adult text-based vaping cessation program, to Douglas County. This free program, developed by the Truth Initiative, helps build the confidence and skills needed and provides motivation and support to help participants quit for good. The messaging is tailored to age and product usage and incorporates messages from real youth and young adults who have attempted to and/or successfully quit vaping. This Is Quitting was launched nationwide in January of this year and has already helped over 60,000 young people. We are excited to be one of the first communities to launch the program locally and hope to have just as much success. Those interested in enrolling need only text “VAPEFREEDC” to 88709. Please join our efforts in Douglas County to help people quit and protect our community from the tobacco industry. We’ve stood up to the industry before, passing strong indoor clean air laws and raising the age to purchase tobacco to 21. We can hold the industry accountable again – all the while, making sure the best support is available to help people quit for good.