The Vitalité Health Network is encouraging parents to talk to their kids about vaping and the risks.
According to a recent wellness survey amongst New Brunswickers conducted in 2018-19, 43 per cent of students in grades 9 to 12 have already vaped.
Public Health Nurse Lyne St-Onge Lefrançois says the goal of their awareness campaign is to make everyone aware of the risks.
“When teenagers start to vape, they don’t really think about all of the consequences of vaping. It can lead to nicotine addictions, lung damage and it can have a long term health impact,” she said.
In the coming weeks, infographics and a series of videos will be posted on social media.
“The goal of this initiative is to equip parents to educate their children and make them aware of the risks and harm related to vaping,” said Nancy Bastarache, public health director for the network, who mentioned this practice is well-established within schools.
“The stats are there and they show there is a problem. We really want to take the time to tell the parents to go talk to their child, open the discussion. You don’t need to be an expert to talk about it,” said St-Onge.
A presentation and reference guide has also been established, in a partnership between the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.
Right now, they are focusing on helping the parents, so they will educate their kids about vaping.
“We also want to do a campaign that focuses on teenagers. Right now we are focusing on the parents and the community,” said St-Onge.
For further information, visit the network’s website.
