New Messages from TSET Focus on Social Aspects of Vaping Among Teenagers
Behind the Haze ads show teens sharing nicotine means sharing addiction
OKLAHOMA CITY (February 9, 2023) – New educational messages launching later this month aim to show teens the dangers of sharing nicotine and the harms of the addiction that follows. The messages are a part of Behind the Haze, a campaign to educate teens about the dangers of vaping.
Behind the Haze is a campaign of the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) and a part of the TSET Healthy Youth Initiative.
Research shows many Oklahoma teens first try vapes for social reasons, and sharing vapes between friends is very common. The new messages, called “Sharing Addiction,” communicate how vaping nicotine causes physiological changes in people and asks teens to consider whether they are willing to be the reason their friends are at risk.
Starting February 13, “Sharing Addiction” will air statewide on TV, cable and radio stations that feature family programming. The goal is to prompt conversation within families about the dangers of vaping and tobacco use and support kids in making healthy lifestyle choices. Oklahoma teens can also interact with the campaign online through digital and social media popular with teens, including Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and YouTube.
You can view “Sharing Addiction” and other youth tobacco prevention messages by visiting the TSET Healthy Youth Initiative website: TSETHealthyYouth.com.
Teens struggling with vape use and nicotine addiction can sign up for free quit help through My Life, My Quit. Funded by TSET, My Life, My Quit provides Oklahoma teens ages 13-17 with FREE text or web-based coaching to help quit vaping for good. Teens can text “Start My Quit” to 36072 for real-time coaching or visit MyLifeMyQuit.com to learn more about the program and enroll online.
Educators and health care providers interested in receiving free materials supporting healthy youth, including My Life, My Quit flyers and posters, can visit TSETHealthyYouth.com/order.
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The TSET Healthy Youth Initiative empowers Oklahoma youth to improve health outcomes for themselves and future generations. The initiative includes statewide public health education messaging, a youth-led advocacy program and character-building to reduce tobacco use and obesity. The initiative also gives parents resources to support their children in maintaining or developing healthy habits for a lifetime. Visit TSETHealthyYouth.com to learn more.
My Life, My Quit is a free program to help Oklahoma teens, ages 13–17, quit tobacco, including e-cigarettes. Offering tools most utilized by teens — free live texting, web chat and phone calls — My Life, My Quit supports teens through the steps of quitting tobacco to be able to live tobacco free. Funded by the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET), these free services for Oklahoma teens are at MyLifeMyQuit.com or text “Start My Quit” to 36072.
The Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) serves as a partner and bridge builder for organizations shaping a healthier future for all Oklahomans. TSET provides leadership at the intersections of health by working with local coalitions and initiatives across the state, cultivating innovative and life-changing research and working across public and private sectors to develop, support, implement and evaluate creative strategies to take advantage of emerging opportunities to improve the public’s health. To learn more, visit Oklahoma.gov/TSET.
TSET – Better Lives Through Better Health