We are a local Alaska health campaign working to reduce smoking and vaping. Our messages show the real consequences of using tobacco and e-cigarettes. We share effective messaging and tips and strategies to quit. 

About 14,000 Alaska youth under age 18 are expected to die prematurely from smoking-related causes. Youth are more likely than adults to try e-cigarettes and vapes, which increases chances of using other tobacco products, like cigarettes. Both e-cigarettes and cigarettes are harmful to health. Products containing nicotine are especially addicting and destructive to developing brains. Despite which products are being used, quitting can be tough. A new generation is being hooked into a cycle of addiction.¹

Every year, smoking kills more people than alcohol, car crashes, AIDS, illegal drugs, murders, and suicides combined. It’s never been more important to stay healthy. One of the best ways to do this is to quit smoking and vaping — and to never start in the first place. ²

Tobacco companies spend about $16 million each year in Alaska on advertising to influence people to start smoking. Kids and teens are two times more likely than adults to be influenced by tobacco company marketing. Our campaign helps Alaska youth see beyond this flashy advertising and find current, accurate messages about smoking and vaping. Alaska youth deserve to hear the truth and to live a healthy life. ³

We see through the shiny packaging, and we’re Not Buying It.

SOURCES

1. https://www.tobaccofreekids.org/problem/toll-us/alaska

2. 2019 Staff Core Messages, page 15. 

   U.S. Surgeon General. Know the risks. E-cigarettes & young people website. Available https://e-cigarettes.surgeongeneral.gov/knowtherisks.html#aerosol-exposure. 

   HHS. E-Cigarette Use Among Youth and Young Adults. A Report of the Surgeon General. Executive Summary. 2012

3. HHS, Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults: A Report of the Surgeon General, 2012.  

4. 2019 Staff Core Messages, pages 13 and 15. 

   U.S. Surgeon General. Know the risks. E-cigarettes & young people website. Available https://e-cigarettes.surgeongeneral.gov/knowtherisks.html#aerosol-exposure. 

   Aldehydes in Exhaled Breath during E-Cigarette Vaping: Pilot Study Results. Samburova et al. Available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6161081/#:~:text=A%20number%20of%20studies%20have,well%20as%20diacetyl%20%5B10%5D. Accessed 5/27/21 9:54 AM

   Volatile Organic Compounds. American Lung Association. Available at https://www.lung.org/clean-air/at-home/indoor-air-pollutants/volatile-organic-compounds#:~:text=VOCs%20Can%20Harm%20Health,effects%2C%20though%20many%20have%20several. Accessed 5/27/21 9:51 AM.

5. 2019 Staff Core Messages page 16

   https://truthinitiative.org/research-resources/emerging-tobacco-products/how-much-nicotine-juul

   https://truthinitiative.org/research-resources/emerging-tobacco-products/new-federal-data-flavored-e-cigarettes-continue-drive

6. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, 2018. The Toll of Tobacco in Alaska. Available from https://www. tobaccofreekids.org/problem/toll-us/alaska