Philadelphia health officials are taking aim at teen vaping with a new campaign called “Don’t Get Finessed,” as Pennsylvania begins enforcing new restrictions on the sale of certain vape and e-cigarette products.
The Philadelphia Department of Public Health hopes the campaign will educate young people about the dangers of vaping and discourage them from using nicotine products.
According to the city, about 19% of Philadelphia youth currently use e-cigarettes, while 38% have tried them.
At Girard College in Philadelphia, 12th grader Harmony Ellis said vaping remains a problem among students, even with measures in place to discourage it.
“We have vape detectors in our school bathroom, but students simply don’t care about them. They vape anyway,” Ellis said.
Ellis said she has watched the issue grow throughout her years at school.
Dr. Samara Jinks-Cheng, an adolescent addiction doctor at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said vaping has become more common among young people than traditional cigarettes.
“I don’t see any young people that smoke cigarettes, they think it’s gross. No kid would smoke a cigarette, they vape, so I noticed the numbers are not actually reflecting nicotine vaping use,” Jinks-Cheng said.
The city’s anti-vaping campaign comes as Pennsylvania begins enforcing Act 57, a law restricting which electronic nicotine delivery systems can be sold in the state.
Beginning Monday, Oct. 19, retailers are prohibited from selling vape and e-cigarette products that are not listed in the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General’s official ENDS Directory.
At Girard Mini Mart, owner Rosa Aguilera said the new rules could mean a significant loss of revenue, particularly after the store recently removed its gaming machines.
“I’m affected because you lose a lot of money,” Aguilera said.
Aguilera said she has always checked customers’ identification and has never sold vaping products to minors. She believes adults should be allowed to make their own decisions about nicotine use.
Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania House recently passed legislation that would impose fines on store owners who illegally sell vaping products to minors.
Philadelphia health officials hope the “Don’t Get Finessed” campaign will work alongside state restrictions to reduce vaping among young people.
Dr. Palak Raval-Nelson, with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, described the city’s approach as a combination of education and enforcement.
“We do education, and then if education is not working, we use the fullest extent of the law enforcement,” Raval-Nelson said.
For students like Ellis, the hope is that more young people will recognize the risks of vaping and encourage their friends to quit.
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC Philadelphia. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC Philadelphia journalist edited the article for publication.
