TikTok influencers are trying to get teenagers to quit vaping as part of a partnership with the anti-tobacco nonprofit Truth Initiative.
Truth Initiative is working with the influencers to start a viral Tik Tok challenge showing different ways users can ditch their vaping products. As part of the #ThisisQuitting challenge, teens perform different “Ice Water Trick Shots,” and film themselves doing elaborate tricks to dunk their vapes in water, Now This reported.
Through the “This is Quitting” program, Truth Initiative is also offering text-based support. Teens can text “DitchVAPE” to 88709 for free and anonymous support on how to quit vaping.
It was reported that, “The first messages they receive will ask for their age and product usage so that they are able to receive relevant messages,” Truth Initiative explains on their website. “Users receive one age-appropriate message per day tailored to their enrollment date or quit date, which can be set and reset via text message.”
According to Now This, the highly publicized vaping epidemic has led to over a thousand lung injuries and several deaths — though the CDC says the vast majority of those have been related to cartridges containing illicit THC, often diluted with vitamin E acetate.
Various federal measures have been initiated to curb teen vaping, including raising the legal purchasing age of tobacco products to 21 and banning most flavored nicotine vape cartridges.
