Electronic cigarettes, better known as vapes, were originally marketed as a healthier alternative to tobacco products and inhaling smoke, and even a way to wean off nicotine addiction. However, vaping delivers highly concentrated nicotine that can lead to rapid development of nicotine dependence, and many vapes contain harmful chemicals that put users at risk for cardiac and respiratory problems. Flavored vape cartridges, together with trendy packaging and technology, make them highly attractive to adolescents and young adults that may otherwise never use a nicotine product.
An upcoming Dartmouth Health Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) virtual series will explore the use and appeal of vaping among youth and young adults, and the pharmacology and harms of nicotine and other substances in vapes. “Hooked on a Cloud: Youth Vaping Products, Risks, and Intervention Opportunities ECHO” will examine environmental factors that shape youth/young adult use, including product appeal, marketing and public policies, and will consider opportunities for change. Attendees will be prepared to recognize, intervene and support youth and young adults towards harm reduction or elimination of vaping using evidence-based approaches.
All six sessions in the series are on Wednesdays from 12-1 pm, from September through December. Topics include:
- September 24 – Vaping 101: What vapes are today, what they look like, and what's inside
- October 8 – Vaping 101: Physiology and health effects
- October 22 – Interventions for vaping: Behavioral health strategies and medications
- November 5 – Interventions for vaping: Apps, websites, and other self-guided strategies
- November 19 – Strategies to engage youth and young adults in conversations about vaping
- December 3 – Vaping influences: industry, peers, and policy
Primary care providers and teams, school personnel, and others who work/interact with youth in the community are encouraged to take part in this free educational series. To register, visit bit.ly/47KSSRP.
Project ECHO is a program of the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center.
About Dartmouth Health
Dartmouth Health, New Hampshire’s only academic health system and largest private employer, serves patients across New England. Dartmouth Health provides access to more than 2,300 providers in nearly every area of medicine, delivering care at its flagship hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, NH. Its network of hospitals, outpatient centers, clinics and home care facilities, spans a broad geographical area. Year after year, DHMC is named the #1 hospital in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report, and is consistently recognized for high performance in numerous clinical specialties and procedures. Dartmouth Health includes Dartmouth Cancer Center, northern New England’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers and one of less than than 60 total nationally; Dartmouth Health Children’s, which includes the state’s only children’s hospital (Children’s Hospital at DHMC/CHaD) and more than 20 locations around the region; eight member hospitals in Lebanon, Keene, Claremont, Hampstead, and New London, NH, and Windsor and Bennington, VT; Dartmouth Health Home Care; Dartmouth Health Connected Care Center for Telehealth, serving patients as far away as Texas; and more than 30 primary and multi-specialty clinics across New Hampshire and Vermont. Through its partnership with Dartmouth College, Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine and the White River Junction VA Medical Center, Dartmouth Health trains nearly 400 medical residents and fellows annually and performs cutting-edge research and clinical trials with international impact. Dartmouth Health and its more than 16,000 employees are committed to serving the healthcare needs of everyone in the communities it serves and to providing every patient with exceptional, state-of-the-art, personalized care. Learn more at dartmouth-health.org.