anti-vaping group takes to tiktok with challenge
#thisisquitting encourages teens to get rid of their vapes in creative ways on film
2 minute read
go on tiktok right now and you’ll see videos of young people taking measures to destroy their vapes in various ways. it’s the result of a new challenge on tiktok going viral, as thousands of videos show teens throwing away their vapes and vowing to quit in the new year. truth, an organization dedicated to spreading awareness and action to stop smoking and vaping, launched the campaign in partnership with tiktok influencers in the new year. it’s a challenge that encourages teens to film themselves getting rid of their vapes in creative ways with the hashtag #thisisquitting. in one video, a person skateboards to a bottle of water and chucks their vape into it. another uses a nerf gun to blast their vape into a bathtub full of water. one creative user throws their vape into the air and whacks it with a golf club. most videos involve teens dropping their e-cigarettes into a bottle of water. according to truth initiative, over 50 per cent of 15 to 24 year-olds who currently use e-cigarette have vowed to quit in the new year, and are showing their participating on tiktok via the #thisisquitting challenge. some influencers who’ve committed to the challenge include tisha alyn, sam grubbs and nick uhas. in a statement to popsugar, alyn says that the campaign hits close to home for her. “this is the environment that my two younger brothers face, and i want to help change that. that’s why i’m excited to help partner with truth and use my platform to inspire kids to kick their juuls to the curb and quit for good.” she said. truth first launched the #thisisquitting campaign in january 2019 as a text-to-quit-vaping service to help young people wanting to quit. teens and young adults can text “ditchjuul” to 88709 in order to participate in the program. popsugar reports that according to truth, over half of the 77,000 people enrolled in the program said they already quit or reduced their vape usage after two weeks of participating. the challenge has great timing, as studies have found dramatic increases in youth vaping in the past year. in june 2019, the canadian cancer society reported that youth vaping in canada had increased by 74%.
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