Whatcom families help their kids avoid tobacco.
Nearly all adult smokers started smoking before age eighteen and most who currently smoke have tried to quit. Constant media exposure and easy access to candy-like packaging and flavors make tobacco enticing to kids—by design.
Talk with your kids about the dangers of smoking and help them decode the confusing messages they will encounter every day.
Scroll down to learn more.
Whatcom youth are more than
70% less likely to vape
(use e-cigarettes) if household rules don’t allow it.
Whatcom youth who have fun with their parents are over
65% less likely to smoke
cigarettes.
three times less likely to smoke cigarettes
when they have a positive family environment.
Whatcom youth are
seven times less likely to smoke
if their parents think it is
wrong to do so.
How dangerous is vaping?
Vaping (e-smoking) may be less harmful than smoking cigarettes, but it is still dangerous.
The chemicals used in vaping have been shown to negatively impact the immune and respiratory system. In addition, most people who vape at least occasionally use nicotine—the highly-addictive stimulant found in tobacco. The use of nicotine makes vaping much more damaging, especially to the lungs.
Far, far more dangerous than the immediate affects of vaping are the unhealthy habits it encourages. Vape users are over more likely to become smokers. In this way, vaping is very much a gateway drug, and should be treated as a very risky activity (especially for youth).