Region Ten and Light House Studio partnering to reduce teen tobacco use

NBC 29

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - Region Ten and The Light House Studio are partnering to develop creative strategies to reduce tobacco, nicotine, and vaping use in teens.

Region Ten has received a $90,000 grant from The Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth.

“The Community Innovation Grant is specifically geared towards helping youth who are disparately affected by tobacco use and the associated health outcomes,” Region Ten Prevention Program Manager Zarina Burdge said.

The grant will pay for a workshop where high schoolers will learn how to make a public service announcement video about vaping and its negative health outcomes.

“We’re just really excited to empower the youth voice in this, because we know that young people put an extra importance on their peer influence at this age” Burdge said.

Burdge believes the rise in vaping is due to fun flavors and the misinformation surrounding them. She says it is not just water vapor.

“What a lot of young people don’t realize is that there is nicotine, which is an addictive drug, as well as lots of other chemicals that weren’t really created to be inhaled into the lungs,” Burdge said.

She hopes the videos will work to keep kids informed and healthy.

“We want young people to have this information and be armed with this information so that they can make really important decisions for themselves about how to keep themselves healthy,” Burdge said.

The first workshop will run from August 9 to 13.

https://www.nbc29.com/2021/07/20/region-ten-light-house-studio-partnering-reduce-teen-tobacco-use/