“Tobacco is changing. Products look different.”
Those are the words of Cath Tease, who is the Co-Chair of the Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition in Manitowoc, which is teaming up with the Manitowoc Police Department to help curb the trend of teen vaping.
Tease explained why it is such a big deal that teens be taught the dangers of vaping, and how they really aren’t safer than smoking traditional cigarettes.
“Both products contain nicotine, and sadly a lot of young people who use vape don’t understand that,” Tease explained. “Now, parents and schools are trying to figure out what we do about this. It’s being called a vaping epidemic.”
A big problem with vape pens is that some of them look like everyday items, which is what will be addressed in the upcoming program entitled “Hidden in Plain Sight”.
“Some schools teachers didn’t even know what vapes look like,” Tease said. “Some of them look exactly like a jump drive, and some young people charge their vapes in class. Hidden in Palin site is to educate parents about what these products look like.”
SGT Paul Krock, the Crime Prevention Sargent at the Manitowoc Police Department described one of the more unique ways teens are hiding their vaping products.
“It looks just like a real soda can but the top screws off,” Kock explained. “We plan on having some of these materials at our presentation, so parents can see what’s out there.”
The “Hidden in Plain Sight” presentation is scheduled for this Thursday (October 28th) in the Balkansky Room at the Manitowoc Public Library.
You can register for the event by visiting the events page on the Manitowoc Public Library website.