Anti-Vaping advocates in Mississippi say they're working to stop teens from using e-cigarettes. MPB's Jasmine Ellis reports.
Experts in Mississippi say they're seeing an increase in teens vaping. Sandra Shelson is executive director with The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi. She says the nicotine in e-cigarettes can have a negative impact on young people.
"And it's causing irritability," said Shelson. "There are all kinds of behavioral problems that are becoming associated with how much nicotine. And so when you've got a young person who is ingesting that much nicotine, they are going to get hooked on it very quickly."
According to the 2018 National Youth Tobacco Survey released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, over 3.5 million youth used e-cigarettes last year.
At Cool Vapes in Jackson, customers are buying vaping products. Sara Bishop is manager at Cool Vapes. She says many people who used to smoke, like her, benefit from vaping.
"I feel like I could run a marathon, I couldn't, but I feel like I could because my chest is clear," said Bishop. "I can breathe again. I can taste food again...things I didn't even know I was missing. But two weeks into vaping I could breathe... I could taste. It was awesome."
The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi's Sandra Shelson says parents can steer their teens away from vaping. She says they need to educate themselves on the products and the signs that their kids might be using e-cigarettes. It's illegal for people under the age of 18 to buy e-cigarettes.
