New text line can help teens quit vaping

Metro Wire Staff

Free help is now available for teens who want to quit vaping through the Live Vape-Free Text Line.

Teens can access the service by texting “VAPEFREE” to the number 873373. Ads promoting the text line are running on popular social media networks like Snapchat and TikTok until the end of March.

According to the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 45.5 percent of high school students in Wisconsin have tried vaping.

Results from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey implemented in Portage Co. schools in the fall of 2021 will be available soon and will provide insight into how these trends have changed over the past three years, according to a news release from the county’s health and human services department.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nicotine is highly addictive and can harm adolescent brain development, which continues into the early to mid-20s. Knowing the harmful effects of nicotine makes it important for current e-cigarette users to quit vaping.

In 2019, tobacco retailer compliance checks through the Wisconsin Wins program found that out of 45 inspections, 16 percent of the retailers inspected sold a tobacco or nicotine product to a minor in Portage County.

Purchasing tobacco and nicotine products is just one way that kids can access vape products. Through the Wisconsin Wins program, retailers are given access to tools such as free ID verification training to ensure they don’t sell tobacco and nicotine products to youth.

Parents, guardians, or other adults who want to help a young person in their life quit e-cigarettes can enroll in a free online course at www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/vapefree. The course teaches about warning signs and gives tips and tools for talking to a teenager in their life.

As a reminder, teens can access free help by texting “VAPEFREE” to the number 873373.