Kids and nicotine. Imagine some kids are so hooked on something called nicotine, found in things like e-cigarettes, that they need it even while they’re sleeping. They keep these devices under their pillows and sneak a puff in the middle of the night. This was shared during a talk about making rules about these things in Australia.
Ads Targeting Young People on the Internet
Dr. Hester Wilson, speaking for a group of doctors, told everyone that these kids see lots of ads about these e-cigarettes on the internet, like on social media. It’s like the ads are making them want to use these things even more.
Kids Doing Anything for Nicotine
One of the doctors told a story about a kid who’s really into nicotine. He needs it so badly that he hides his vaping device under his pillow. At school, he’s super sneaky and hides the device up his sleeve so he can use it during class. It’s clear he’s having a hard time giving this up.
Ads Designed to Be Secret
A while ago, some people found that stores selling these e-cigarettes are using the internet to show off products that are made to be super easy to hide from parents and teachers. That’s not good!
Proposed Changes and What They Mean
People are thinking about changing the rules. If they do, they’ll put scary pictures and warnings on cigarette packs and individual cigarettes. They’ll also stop adding certain things to these products. The new rules will try to make the packages look plain and not cool, so kids won’t want to try them.
Why We Need to Act Quickly
One of the doctors thinks it’s really important to make these changes as soon as possible. But she also said there should be another rule to stop the companies making these things from giving money to political parties and politicians.
No More Influence from Tobacco Companies
Another important doctor agrees with this idea. He thinks that political parties shouldn’t take gifts or money from companies that make these things, because it makes it hard to make good rules to keep people healthy.
Vaping Hurts Kids
This important doctor also said that vaping, which is like smoking but with a different thing, is making more kids start using nicotine, even though not many kids used to do it. Now, more kids and teens are using these things, and it’s causing problems like coughing and lung issues for them.
Worrying Numbers
A recent study found that almost half of the kids in Australia might want to try vaping. That’s why it’s really important to deal with this problem and help kids stay healthy.
