Hawaii has some of the highest rates of youth vaping in the country, and as an educator, you’ve possibly seen students vaping or perhaps your own child has been offered or tried vaping.

Join Parents Against Vaping e-cigarettes (PAVe) on Thursday, July 9, at 2 p.m. HST for a virtual event called Not Just Vapor. It will help you spot the signs of vaping by children and provide you with solutions to prevent your students or your own children from starting or help them quit.

Christine Russo, a science teacher at Campbell High serves as the digital parent organizer for the growing local chapter of PAVe. Russo, who was HSTA’s teacher lobbyist during the past two legislative sessions, is among those building a coalition of parent advocates in Hawaii to speak out against youth vaping.

“This event will be useful to educators because they play a very important role in helping students make informed, healthy choices as they navigate the challenges of childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood,” Russo said. “While the session is framed as an event for parents, it is actually valuable for any adult who works with youth as we all must come together collectively to help fight the youth vaping epidemic.”

Some of key topics that will be discussed include:

  • The dangers of the rapidly evolving vape industry and the new devices kids are using
  • How to spot the signs of vaping
  • How vaping affects the young body
  • How to talk with kids about vaping
  • The pitfalls of applying a punitive approach to this problem

Submit your own question to the PAVe team as you RSVP. This free virtual event will be hosted on Zoom, with call information sent to attendees the night before. Can’t make the virtual event? Please register anyway for a recording.

Register online here