Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Tri-County to Host Community Forum on Vaping Epidemic - Nov 19

Students at Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School will host a community forum next week highlighting the worsening teen vaping epidemic, with a panel of local experts who will discuss health, legal, and scholastic effects of vaping and vaping legislation.

The sophomore class of the Legal and Protective Services (LPS) career program will host the panel, “Inhaling the Facts: A Panel of Experts on the Vaping Epidemic” on Tuesday November 19 at 6 PM. The event is free and open to the public.

With the recent acknowledgement of vaping as a public health crisis and Governor Charlie Baker’s temporary ban on all vaping products statewide, students in the LPS career program have done extensive research on the matter, as it affects young people in their community. LPS students have learned about the known and suspected health risks of vaping, as well as the misinformation of products that are not regulated by the FDA.

State Representative Shawn Dooley, Dr. Lester Hartman of Westwood-Mansfield Pediatrics, Officer Paul Guarino of the Franklin Police Department, and Mary Ellen Bronner, a licensed social worker, will address the legislative and health issues related to vaping.

“In my opinion, this event will be successful if parents walk away feeling more educated about the vaping epidemic,” Teaghan LeBlanc, a sophomore at Tri-County said. “I hope that if middle schoolers learn the facts about vaping, they'll begin to realize that not vaping is their best option.”

“Teen vaping is currently at crisis levels in our Commonwealth. Teen smoking levels had reached an all-time low, but now we are seeing off-the-charts teen vaping. We must make sure we respond to this crisis swiftly but also thoughtfully and appropriately. Events like this panel are key to starting the dialogue, getting to the root of the problem, and ultimately establishing a smart, sensical policy to combat the issue,” said Representative Dooley.

Students in the LPS program are committed to public service, and the students wanted to reach out to the community with the information they have gathered in hopes of preventing younger students from picking up the habit.



What: Teen Vaping Expert Panel and Community Forum

Where: Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School, 147 Pond St, Franklin, MA 02038

When: Tuesday, November 19 at 6 PM

Who: 
  • State Representative Shawn Dooley
  • Dr. Lester Hartman, Westwood-Mansfield Pediatrics
  • Officer Paul Guarino, Franklin Police Department
  • Mary Ellen Bronner, licensed social worker

Download a copy of this announcement
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0wjbnXDBhczN0xiTDY1WU5TR2dvVXJMUDJudkd1T2VGMWhZ/view?usp=sharing
 
 
Tri-County to Host Community Forum on Vaping Epidemic - Nov 19
Tri-County to Host Community Forum on Vaping Epidemic - Nov 19

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