Talk With Your Kids
How to Start a Conversation (4)
If you’re waiting for the right moment, it will never come. In using the resources provided here, you’ll be ready to start at any moment.
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Say something if you see someone vaping or if you see a vape advertisement. Ask your child if they’ve seen vapes at their schools.
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Ask if they’ve seen vape videos pop up while they’re on social media.
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Be curious and don’t feel like you need to have all the answers in the beginning.
Sample Conversation Starters and Responses (5)
If you’re struggling to find the words for how to address vaping with your kids use these common conversation and sample responses to get the conversation going. These tips are provided by Protect Kids Fight Flavored E-Cigs.
Click on the topics below for helpful conversation tips:
Helpful Tip:
Pay attention to your kid's conversations with their friends and take note if they are using words and phrases related to vaping.
Resources & Citations
In spring 2020, the Paso del Norte Health Foundation and YMCA of El Paso conducted a set of focus groups on vaping in our community. The interviews involved pre-teens, teens, parents, and school administrators from El Paso, Texas, and Las Cruces, New Mexico. The information shared above contains insights from those groups as well as additional information from respected vaping resources.
For Parents and the Community
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The CDC has created a Parent Tip Sheet (in English and Spanish) to help parents talk with their children. This tip sheet offers facts and practical ways to start conversations. Visit https://e-cigarettes.surgeongeneral.gov.
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You can also find more websites on the types of information you’re looking for at The PAVe Resources. Visit https://www.parentsagainstvaping.org/websites-we-like.
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The American Lung Association also has an excellent website with valuable information. Visit, The Vape Talk at: https://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/vape-talk.
For Kids
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For information on how to quit vaping, visit thisisquitting.
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The truth initiative also offers youth a text-to-quit program. Text DITCHJUUL to 88709 to get tips to quit.
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To hear from youth who quit JUUL, visit this link at buzzfeednews.com.
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For more information on THC, go to True to You Awareness Campaign for Youth http://www.staytruetoyou.org, and You Can Prevention Campaign https://www.youcanwa.org.
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Do you want to learn more about getting involved in fighting big tobacco? The Texas Say What program is Texas-based and gets you involved in policy in the state and your community. Visit txsaywhat.com to learn more.
Citations
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Paso del Norte Health Foundation Vaping Among Pre-Teen and Teen Audiences in the Paso del Norte Region.
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2018 DSHS Texas Youth Tobacco Survey 24.7% and New Mexico Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey
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Adapted from https://www.lung.org/quit-smoking/vape-talk
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From https://fightflavoredecigs.org/tips-on-talking-to-your-kids
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance—United States, 2017. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. June 15, 2018; 67(SS-08).
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Paso del Norte Health Foundation Vaping Among Pre-Teen and Teen Audiences in the Paso del Norte Region.