Milford Vaping Forum Draws Large Crowd

From the Connecticut General Assembly:

November 21 2019

Milford Vaping Forum Draws Large Crowd

MILFORD - The Milford community came together on Tuesday night to have a serious and eye-opening conversation about the uptick in teen vaping across the state. The Milford Youth Vaping Forum was held by state lawmakers, State Reps. Kathy Kennedy, Charles Ferraro, Kim Rose, and Sen. James Maroney along with the Milford Prevention Council and the Milford Health Department.

Approximately 100 parents, students, educators, and other concerned residents showed up to share their stories, gain insight from the experts, and discuss solutions.

“This educational forum is an important step in continuing a state-wide conversation about how we can all work together to educate our youth on the serious health risks of vaping and initiate other prevention strategies in order to put a stop to the increased number of injuries and deaths we are seeing on a day-to-day basis,” said Rep. Kennedy, a member of the Public Health Committee and moderator of the panel discussion. “I want to thank the Milford Prevention Council and all the work and outreach they do for Milford youths and their parents.”

“Vaping among teens and young adults is a serious issue,” said Rep. Ferraro. “It was great to see so many students and parents attending this forum to learn about the problems and health risks associated with vaping. I want to thank everyone that attended and will continue to push for policies that will help keep vaping products out of the hands of our children.”

According to a study conducted by the Department of Public Health, the number of Connecticut high school students using vaping products has doubled between 2015 to 2017.

Local high school students and their parents were in attendance to hear from panelists about the vaping issue and learn how to get help if they need it.

The full panel included:

• Tricia Dahl, Yale University School of Medicine

• Max Berkowitz, Principal of Foran High School

• Fran Thompson, Principal of Jonathon Law High School

• Steve Gottlieb, Principal of Harborside Middle School

• Zach Merchant and Bella McPadden, Milford students

• Todd Forti, Former Vaper

• Veronica Weser, Postdoctoral Associate in the play4REAL Lab at the Yale Center for Health and Learning Games

• Dr. Andrew Carlson, MD, Community/School Medical Advisor

• Representatives Charlie Ferraro, Kim Rose, Kathy Kennedy

Lawmakers this year overwhelming passed legislation to increase the age of legal use of vaping products from 18 to 21. In addition, the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services launched unannounced compliance checks on e-cigarette dealers this fall.

In the last three months, over three dozen people have died and about 1,500 vape users have suffered lung injuries, including one death in Connecticut have been attributed to vaping.

Residents and students were encouraged to reach out to teachers, administrators, and the Milford Prevention Council if they had questions or concerns about vaping.

Lawmakers will be headed back into session in February where they are expected to discuss additional legislation to address the vaping issues in Connecticut.

This press release was produced by the Connecticut General Assembly. The views expressed here are the author’s own.