Teen Vaping - Part Two

Hello Carol,

With the recent shooting at MSU, we understand you and your children may be struggling to process yet another tragic event, combined with their already increasing stress and pressure, we want to encourage you to have conversations with your children.

Make sure your children know that they can come to you for anything. And, when they do, let them talk, share their feelings so you can validate and understand what they are going through.

Even when we can't explain, control, or fix it, being there for each other to simply listen, comfort and process things can help.

By now you can hopefully focus on returning to routines and the tremendous support that the MSU community has and continues to receive. Know that we are here if you need support. A list of resources is included at the end of this e-news for additional support.

If you are a Parent of a Middle or High School Student, it is very likely that they know a student or many students who are vaping. They may have been offered a vape to try, have tried it ,or are already vaping.

In the last edition, we provided National data on teen vaping. We are currently calculating our data from our own 2022 Teen Survey and have found concerning trends for vape use as well, among our own students. For example, by the time our students reach 12^th grade, 1 in 5 students are vaping.

This is happening and we need to understand it, be educated and talk about it, if we are going to be able to stop it. If we don’t protect our kids from vaping, then who will?

In this e-news are tips and resources about vaping to support you and your teen, as well as helpful insights from our own YAB teens.

We are collaborating with Bloomfield Hills PTOC to bring you the following programs:

Narcan Training on March 14th, from 7-8:00PM at Bloomfield Hills High School
Teen Substance Use, Insights Tools & For Parents & Caregivers, April 6th, 7-8:30 PM, at International Academy OKMA Campus.

These programs are all part of the BH PTOC Health and Wellness Committee's 2022-2023 Educational series for parents and students. We hope you will save the date and join us for these informative programs to support you and your teens. More info below...

For healthy connections we have our Youth Action Board (YAB) for high school teens and coming for the first time this year, the Mid Action Board (MAB), for 8th graders. MAB is launching on Sunday February 26th. Contact Kelly for more information: kmichaud@bbcoalition.org

We are here to support you and your children in these challenging times so please reach out to us, if needed.

Stay safe, stay healthy,

Carol & Kelly

Carol Mastroianni

executive director

Kelly Michaud

youth program coordinator

Teen Vaping

Do You Know

What You Need to Know

And what to do?

For the last several weeks, we have been on tour at several of our Birmingham Bloomfield schools to bring the powerful story of Daniel Ament, 20-year-old Wayne State University student from Grosse Pointe, who received a double lung transplant when he was just 16 as a result of his vaping.

Daniel has his own non-profit, Fight4Wellness where he works to educate people about the dangers of vaping. The impact of hearing his story has been powerful to the nearly 700 students and staff that we brought Daniel's experience to.

Here are just a few reactions from students who heard Daniel’s story:

There are serious consequences of vaping so just don’t take the risk. Don't vape.

The advice that Daniel gave: “Don’t wait until tomorrow to start what you can do today. Always think about your future self.”

Vaping is not good for anyone. You could get addicted. And you could hurt your God given body. You might think it is cool to vape because all of your friends are doing it, and you don't want to be left out. Later you realized that it is a harm for you and your body.

We know vaping is happening in our Middle and High Schools, and we are working with your schools to support them and to bring the students powerful, relatable and important information on the harms and consequences.

If you as a Parent or Caregiver and want to do something but don’t know what, how, when, and where to start, especially if you suspect or know that your child or their friends are vaping, the following tips may be helpful.

Signs your child may be vaping:

Bloodshot eyes
Increased thirst, because vaping dehydrates the mouth and throat
Nosebleeds
Adding extra salt or spices to food as a result of “vaper’s tongue”—a reduction in the ability to perceive flavor
Chronic cough due to the irritated lung tissue
Unfamiliar pens/USB devices… in their room, car, backpack, pillowcases—for example, items that look like USB drives or other electronic devices
Missing chargers
Different scents
Going to the bathroom a lot, more than what seems or should be normal (This can happen at school, at home, when out at restaurants, family or other gatherings)
Being secretive and intensely protective of their privacy
Irritability and moods swings as a result of withdrawal symptoms

So how do you talk to your child about all of this?

First, it starts with a conversation, not just one and done. It must be an ongoing and mutual dialogue that you can have with your child over time.
Before you talk to your child, educate yourself. Get credible information from trusted and reliable sources (in addition, the BBCC, we will include a list of resources at the end of this article).
When you do talk to your child, come from a place of support and be ready to listen and understand. Once you feel you have found the right moment for both you and your child, start the conversation based on a situation, you may have witnessed or if you see a vape ad or shop, or you may have found evidence of their vaping.
Try to be patient and maintain an open dialogue. Avoid criticism and judgement – remember this should be a conversation not a lecture. Try to put yourself in their shoes – you were a teen once, with pressures and stresses that you also faced.
You can and should make your values and expectations known, but if your child has friends who vape or is vaping themselves, they will need your support.

Insights from our YAB table dialogue include:

Make sure your teen knows you are a safe place to come to talk.
Let them know you want them to be happy and healthy.
Trust them and make sure you acknowledge the good choices they make -- and that includes coming to you for help and support.
Realize your child may be afraid of punishment at school and at home, so it’s important to reassure them that you are ready to listen and support them.

More points to consider:

This is a good time to communicate the harms and risks of vaping. Be open to listen to them as well and answer their questions.
If things escalate or you need to just take a break, that’s okay. Put a pause on the conversation and agree to pick things up another time that you both agree to.
Addiction can happen if they are vaping with nicotine in as little as a day. If they are not vaping with nicotine, the chemicals that go into the vape juice, and the device itself, as well as the lack of safety and health regulations, all can be extremely harmful to the developing teen brain, lungs, cardiovascular systems, and their bodies in general, in numerous other ways.
Early adolescent vape use with nicotine has proven to increase mental health issues.
Vaping can and does lead to marijuana use.

In our next edition, we will pick up here and finalize our teen vaping series with a focus on giving your child support including refusal skills and resiliency, getting support to help your child quit vaping, and on marijuana use that is happening among teens today.

Here are some helpful local resources for Parents and Caregivers:

School Wellness/Crisis Counselors/Support and Administration.
Reach out to let them know your teen seems to be struggling
Reach out if YOU need support – they are/have great resources

Your Doctor & Pediatrician
Oakland Community Health Network: https://www.oaklandchn.org/
Common Ground: https://commongroundhelps.org/
Birmingham Youth Assistance: Home | Birmingham Youth Assistance
Boomfield Youth Assistance:https://www.bloomfield.org/community/community-organizations/bya
BBCC: https://bbcoalition.org/
Youth focused prevention, health and wellness (bbcoalition.org)
The Youth Action Board (YAB) – healthy connections for teens.
The Mid Action Board (MAB) – healthy connections for 8^th graders.