The volunteers at Massachusetts PTA continue to work to advocate for the health and welfare of our children and families. Both our Advocacy/Legislative Committee and the Health Safety and Wellness Committee have prioritized the prevention of Vaping in children but it was the members of our Youth Committee who helped us focus on the issues from their perspective and developed the survey we are currently running.
Recently we joined Attorney General Maura Healey at her press conference where she announced her investigation into JUUL has resulted in a lawsuit against the company for intentionally marketing and selling its e-cigarettes to young people. (Read More About Lawsuit)
If you have not participated in our Vaping survey please click here to take either the Student version or the Parent version of the survey. The information we gather from this anonymous survey will help us to better provide relevant content in our next webinar and ensure our advocacy efforts with legislation and school based policies are in line with what you, our members, feel is needed.
The Massachusetts PTA Health, Wellness and Safety committee is holding a webinar on Vaping on April 28, 2020. The webinar will be presented by experts in the field along with that assistance of the members of the Health Committee.
STATEMENT SUPPORTING LEGAL ACTION BY THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS AGAINST JUUL
Massachusetts PTA supports legislation, regulation, and other measures that prohibit the advertising, marketing and sale of Electronic cigarettes and Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems to youth under the age of 21; that addresses the manufacturing of and ingredients in E-cigarettes and other Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems; and that prohibits the use of E-cigarettes and other Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems on school grounds and in public areas. Therefore, we must support the State of Massachusetts’ legal action against JUUL for allegedly violating several laws. JUUL’s advertising campaigns target young people to use nicotine without knowing the associated risks by enticing them with flavor pods, by using social media marketing campaigns and by direct outreach to high school students by company representatives. We believe this deceptive and misleading marketing contributed to a youth vaping epidemic. JUUL may have failed to include required warnings about exposures to chemicals linked to cancer, about the products containing nicotine and about them being a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes also. Delivering tobacco products directly to under aged persons and selling products online to minors by a third party retail store is illegal. By glamorizing vaping, while at the same time downplaying the nicotine found in vaping products, JUUL is putting countless people at risk. We question whether JUUL has contributed to nicotine use, with addictive and harmful products, among school-aged minors creating a public health epidemic.