Facts. No Filters. YOUTH VAPING CAMPAIGN ANNOUNCEMENT

It’s summer, the Commonwealth is opening up, people are socializing and now is a good time to talk with your teens about vaping.

The MA Department of Public Health, in collaboration with the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation, recently launched a vaping education campaign for youth: Facts. No Filters. The campaign gives youth facts about the dangers of vaping, tips to help them talk to friends, and resources to quit.

This campaign builds awareness and offers adults who care about teens a jumping off point for conversation about youth vaping. The campaign includes paid ads that use a series of short digital videos on Instagram, Snapchat, Connected TV, Google, and other websites. Young people will hear how vapes have nicotine in them and are highly addictive and how this leads to negative impacts on the brain, as well as their physical and mental health. Teens will be encouraged to support their friends who may be struggling with vaping and to connect peers who use vapes (or other tobacco) to free quit services designed for them.

The videos are fun, fast-moving and colorful. They were tested with Massachusetts youth of different ages with the goal of encouraging young people to quit.

You can help spread the word and the videos this summer by going to mass.gov/vaping, sharing the facts and resources through school enrichment programs, youth centers, camps, community pools and sporting events. You can also ask teens if they’ve seen the ads and what they think about them—listen to their responses to begin good conversations with them.

A corresponding parent education campaign will launch soon at GetOutraged.org. Learn more about the youth campaign at mass.gov/vaping and @GetTheVapeFacts on Instagram or contact me for more information: Ashley Hall, Northeast Tobacco-Free Community Partnership, at (978) 722-2864 or ashley.hall@glfhc.org.