Victims of Vaping: How to Protect our Youth - A Community Conversation

The Tobacco Education and Prevention Coalition for Porter County is hosting a free virtual community conversation, Victims of Vaping: Protecting Our Youth, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 19. The event is being held on the third Thursday of November to honor the American Cancer Society’s annual Great American Smokeout event.

Registration is free and open to the public. Adams Radio Group’s Region radio personality, entertainer, and former smoker, Mike Bonaventura, will serve as emcee and moderator of the panel discussion that will address:

Facts about vaping and tobacco use in Porter County
How and why the tobacco industry intentionally targets youth
How early nicotine use affects brain development and hooks youth for a life-long habit

This community dialogue is part of a larger effort driven by the Tobacco Education and Prevention Coalition for Porter County to educate parents, educators, policy-makers and community members about the intentional tobacco industry ploys targeting our youth to addict them to nicotine through e-cigarettes. “Vaping has become an epidemic according to CDC figures revealing high school student vaping has increased from 1.5% in 2011 to 27.5% in 2019,” said Carrie Higgins, Program Director of the Tobacco Education and Prevention Coalition for Porter County.
9 in 10 smokers start by the time they turn 18 and 99% start by age 26. Tobacco companies know that if young people do not start using tobacco early, they likely never will. Maintaining a base of youth and young adult smokers in crucial for sustaining their business and profits. “A high proportion of Porter County tobacco retailers engage in intentional point-of-sale marketing tactics that encourages youth to use tobacco, makes quitting tobacco more difficult, and disproportionately targets some communities, which contributes to disparities in tobacco use rates and tobacco-related health outcomes,” said Higgins.

The panelists for this conversation include:

Co-moderator - Prof. Donald Spears, Chair of the Tobacco Education and Prevention Coalition of Porter County, serves as statewide curriculum chair of Human Services at Ivy Tech Community College and Secretary of the National Organization for Human Services.
Katelin Rupp, Director of Program Evaluation for the Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Commission within the Indiana State Department of Health, evaluates the Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Commission’s statewide comprehensive tobacco control program, which includes tobacco counter-marketing, community-based prevention activities and cessation systems change.
Dr. Theresa Kessler teaches courses in both the undergraduate and graduate programs in nursing at Valparaiso University. She has been the recipient of the Valparaiso University Award for Excellence in Research and Creative Work; the Distinguished Teaching Award from the Valparaiso University Alumni Association; and the Caterpillar Award for Excellence in Teaching. She is a Certified Nurse Educator, as well as an Adult Health Clinical Nurse Specialist. For the last 15 years, Dr. Kessler’s research initiatives in undergraduate student populations has included smoking abstinence and education, alcohol and binge drinking behaviors, attitudes and beliefs about marijuana, and vaping practices. She has presented her work at national and international conferences and published in a variety of journals.
Megan C. Fisher, Director of Recovery Engagement at Porter-Starke Services, Inc., leads the Porter-Starke workgroup, Nic-O-Team, which implements tobacco cessation services and educational opportunities within the organization. She has over 12 years of experience in behavioral health and has worked in the clinical and administrative levels of residential, outpatient, community mental health, and corrections environments.
Lindsey Sample is an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner with Northwest Health Pulmonary-Critical Care. Her critical care expertise includes working with physicians Dr. Douglas Mazurek and Dr. James Anthony; the Neuro ICU and CTICU at the University of Chicago where she was helped manage cardiac surgery patients, heart and lung transplant patients, ECMO, total artificial hearts, NuPulse, LVAD's, strokes and traumatic brain injuries. Upon graduation from Georgetown University with her MSN she became a Nurse Practitioner on the Lung Transplant Team at the University of Chicago. In early 2020 she spent a large portion of her time managing vape related lung injuries that were being worked up for lung transplant while utilizing ECMO as bridge to lung transplant.

Register here for this free virtual event, Victims of Vaping: What You Need to Know to Protect Our Youth. More information about this event or The Tobacco Education and Prevention Coalition for Porter County is available at the TEPC website or Facebook page.