(upbeat music) (graphic pops) - Hello and welcome to "Journal."

I'm Steve Kendall.

The effects of vaping and nicotine use among adults and young adults is becoming an increasingly serious health issue.

Joining us are some members of the Wood County Department of Health Vaping Awareness and Prevention Education Coalition.

I wanna welcome you to "The Journal."

We're joined by Katlin Medjesky, also Madeleine Freyhof, and Tristan Bolden.

So thank you all for being here.

And Katlin, you're with the Wood County Health Department.

Kind of talk about the vaping situation, then we can talk about the organization and why it's important that this is developed and you guys are involved in this.

So talk to us about vaping in Wood County, because that's the area you're most familiar with.

- [Katlin] Right, so we don't have a lot of local data as far as vaping with college students, but we do know that vaping is a problem.

We got a grant from the Ohio Department of Health, the Tobacco Cessation and Prevention Grant.

And obviously, we're not going to get a grant if there isn't a problem.

Right?

- Right.

- But part of that grant is to create a coalition of youth.

And so we were able to partner with BGSU and other area agencies that serve youth, and we got some really great students to help us out with that.

But as far as the prevalence of vaping, I'm not sure we really need data to prove that.

- [Steve] Sure.

- [Katlin] It's not difficult to walk around- - [Steve] And see- - [Katlin] And see.

- [Steve] What's going on.

- [Katlin] Right.

- [Steve] Right.

Yeah.

- [Katlin] But we do know that nationally, there was a National College Health Assessment in the fall of 2023, and nearly 25% of college students vape almost daily.

And nearly 75% have tried vaping.

We know just from some qualitative sort of talking to people, that we have spoken to youth that are as young as 10 years old that have tried it.

- [Steve] Oh, wow.

- So it's a situation where prevention is really key and our coalition is a great first step for prevention strategies here in Wood County.

- Yeah, well, it's interesting because there's been a significant effort going back decades to make sure that people didn't start smoking cigarettes.

- [Katlin] Right.

- And yet somehow vaping became sort, at least when it initially started, was looked at as almost a non-invasive, non-threatening, no harm, no foul kind of way to do this.

And yet now we're finding out that it does have a lot of negative impacts, health impacts, and lifestyle impacts.

- [Katlin] Right, so there is some talk here and there about, you know, "I've quit smoking because I was able to vape."

But we do know that, that there are a number of chemicals in vapes that we can't even say.

It's very- - [Steve] Can't pronounce them.

So, yeah.

- [Katlin] Right.

We can't pronounce them.

There's things like lead, nickel, heavy metals in a vape, down to what makes popcorn taste like butter, it can be found in a vape.

But as far as the health risks, you know, we hear popcorn lung, it can cause legitimate brain changes, changes to the brain, especially a developing brain.

So your brain does not stop developing until you're about 26 years old.

So if we're looking at youth and how it affects youth, it's going to change the way that your brain works.

And the younger that it's picked up- - [Steve] You start.

- [Katlin] Then- - [Steve] The worst that you- - [Katlin] The worst it's going to be.

Right.

So.

- Right.

Yeah.

Now, Madeleine, obviously, you're kind of in the, you guys, both you and Tristan in sort of this target demographic that we're talking about.

What's been your experience?

You can talk a little about that in terms of friends of yours or people you know that vape and how they got started, and then why maybe you got involved in looking at trying to deal with this issue.

- Yeah, so for me personally, I have a lot of friends who have vaped.

I have a lot of personal connections to people who have vaped.

And most of the time, it seems like it mostly starts from a sense of peer pressure and belonging.

Especially coming to, I mean, if you're a new student at BGSU, you don't know anybody in the area.

You're trying to find your groups and your niches to like fit into.

And a lot of time, people will get consumed by the concept of like nicotine and vaping, and see that as a way to almost form a socialization event.

And then usually once that addiction has set it, and that's when people start doing it individually on their own.

And for me personally, I got into the group through word of mouth.

I think that's how most of us were able to get into this group.

It was just like spread around campus.

Hey, there's this group at the Wood County Health Department that's working on nicotine and vaping prevention.

And that's something I've always been personally passionate about.

I love working with the community, being involved with the community.

I love Bowling Green personally, especially as a Bowling Green student.

So I just wanted to do something that I know would make a positive impact on the community and lead to a good change within Bowling Green State University.

- Yeah.

Because they say it's a problem.

It should have been foreseen but wasn't, for somehow we overlooked the idea that this could be a problem.

Tristan, what's been your experience?

Have you, do you have friends or acquaintances that have kind of gone down the path maybe in a more significant way than others, or not?

- So fortunately, well, fortunately not.

(chuckles) - [Steve] Good, good.

That's good news, okay.

- But I do know a couple people who vape and different things like that.

And like Madeleine said, I do feel like it is more of a social thing.

Like people are peer-pressured maybe by societal norms or different things like that.

Smoking has been a part of American, not just American history, but in history in general.

- [Steve] Sure.

- They see it as marketable type of thing that people want to get involved in because all the cool kids are doing it or different things like that.

And part of the reason why I did wanna join this group was to debunk that myth that smoking does not equal cool or different things like that.

I heard from the group because the staff of the Wood County Health Department specifically involved in the V.A.P.E.

Coalition, they came and did a presentation in one of my public health classes on campus.

And right after they got done presenting, I shot them an email like, "Hey, I wanna get involved in this group 'cause I'm really interested in public health and then bettering the community in general, so.

- Yeah.

Now, he mentioned the fact that you guys came out and do presentations, that's part of what the health department does in all different areas.

But this is another one where now you're actually going out into the field and showing people the information based on what we're seeing with regard to vaping.

- Right.

Yeah.

So that's a big part of our work is that not only do we go out into the community, you know, you see us at the fair, you see us in the parades and whatnot, but we do, we have a great collaboration and partnership with BGSU.

And we do, we go into public health classes.

- [Steve] Yeah.

- [Katlin] And we talk about this particular issue.

- [Steve] Sure.

- [Katlin] As well as we go on campus and we're at fairs and whatnot.

- [Steve] Yeah.

- [Katlin] So we have a great partnership with BGSU.

- And like a lot of things, the more information you'd like, you believe that people have, they'll be able to make better decisions and maybe change if they have developed this habit, which, unfortunately, as someone mentioned, is an addiction.

It's just like nicotine in its own way.

So hopefully, it does make some impact.

It's unfortunate we have to go down this road again because we dealt with this with cigarettes in the '60s.

And now here we are 70 years later, whatever, and now we're dealing with vaping along the same path.

We obviously didn't learn our lesson the way we should have, so.

Well, good.

I appreciate you guys coming on and talking about this.

And thank you so much for putting in the time to try and help with this really difficult public health issue.

So we appreciate that very much.

We'll be back in just a moment with more folks from the Wood County Health Department's Vaping Awareness and Prevention Education Coalition here on "The Journal."

Back in just a moment.

Thank you for staying with us on "The Journal."

Our guests are from the Wood County Health Department's Vaping Awareness and Prevention Education Coalition.

We're joined by Katlin Medjesky.

And Katlin, talk about the fact some of the misconceptions people have about vaping, because when it initially came on the scene, it appeared to be a no-harm sort of thing you could do.

And it was great.

No problem.

You could smoke a little and there was no aftereffects, no side effects, nothing negative about it.

So talk about what we know now versus what we were maybe thought or were told then.

- [Katlin] Right, so I think that's probably the biggest myth is that it's okay, it's healthy, there's no secondhand exposure, that sort of thing.

But we do know that that's just not the case.

So earlier, I had spoken about how that it isn't a non, you know, it is unhealthy.

- [Steve] Right.

- It causes issues to your lungs.

It is highly addictive.

We know that one vape can hold as much as close to 600 cigarettes.

- [Steve] Oh, wow.

- Or as much as nicotine as 600 cigarettes.

So, and it's hard to regulate how much you are taking in.

You know, a puff, to me, is not going to be the same as a puff to you, that sort of thing.

So we do know that it causes issues in your lungs.

It can cause brain changes, that sort of thing.

And the younger you are when you start it, the more addicted you're going to become.

And it can cause sort of that gateway effect to other- - [Steve] Yeah, to other things.

- Substances.

Additionally, there's that secondhand smoke effect.

So a vape is not water vapor.

That's another myth.

- [Steve] Ah.

- Another misconception.

So if you look at the pod, right?

It's colored.

So it's not water vapor.

If a cloud comes out of your mouth, there's more to it.

- [Steve] It's not just water.

Right.

- So if you're walking around, and there's things coming out of your body, then we know that those things are going into the air.

And if there's a child around or another person, that person is being exposed to those chemicals as well.

And additionally, you know, there's a law that said that you can't smoke in public places.

- [Steve] Right.

- And a lot of people have a misconception that that means that then I can vape, well- - [Steve] That vaping is exempt from that particular law.

Right.

- [Katlin] Right, the law does state that vaping is part of that law.

- [Steve] Right.

- So you can't walk around and vape in Walmart.

- [Steve] Yeah, sitting in a restaurant or wherever - Right, right, so.

- [Steve] vaping, sure.

- Yeah, so I think that those are probably the ones that we combat the most.

- [Steve] Wow, wow.

- [Katlin] Yeah.

- [Steve] Yeah, because people don't look at it as being a cigarette, therefore they believe it doesn't qualify, - [Katlin] Right.

- fall under those jurisdictions.

Now we're joined by a couple of other folks who are part of the coalition.

Bryanna Evan and Kristen Yowler.

Bryanna, talk about maybe your experience, your awareness of vaping, how you kind of became aware of it and how it's evolved over your time as you've watched people do it.

- Yeah, so I'm from a little small town, and there are a lot of people who started vaping in high school.

It was looked at as something as cool.

And if you did it, it was like secretive, and, you know, people would do it.

And that's just how I found out about it.

As I moved to college, I realized that it was as prevalent as it was in high school, or at least in my high school.

So that was a little, it wasn't eye-opening because I figured it was going to be like that, but it didn't gradually get any bigger than I'd already seen in my youth.

I mean, some of my family members do it because they quit smoking, so now they vape, and that's just their whole thing.

And now they're caught on the vaping cycle.

Like, you know, those people who have been vaping or smoking since they were like 16.

- [Steve] Ah.

- So, you know, it's definitely a hard habit to break, but I mean, if you are serious about your health, that's definitely something that you should consider.

- Yeah, I know.

Now, anecdotally, did they feel that by shifting to vaping that was better than smoking?

So was that one of the reasons they did it?

Or did they come and like, "Hey, this is different, it's new.

I'll try this instead of smoking"?

But, or what they thought it was more healthy for them?

- Yes, they thought it was, you know, something to quit the smoking.

Because the smoking comes with the smell.

You have to go outside for it.

Whereas vaping, something you can do more discreetly, although it's not, you're not supposed to be doing it like indoors and stuff like that, but.

And now they're caught on that cycle again where it's not what they wanna be doing.

They thought it'd helped them quit and they're not done, so.

- [Steve] Now they're just hooked on something a little bit different.

- Yeah.

- [Steve] Wow, and Kristen, what's your perspective on this?

How did you kind of become aware and get involved in this?

- So I became aware of this group, and just like Tristan said, like in public health class, we were actually in the same class together.

So that's how I became aware of this group.

I personally haven't, like experienced growing up, like seeing different people like vaping and coming from that background of, like, nicotine use.

So it was kind of a culture shock for me when I came to college and saw like, I guess like- - [Steve] So many people- - Yeah, so many people doing it.

Like, I guess just the scale of nicotine abuse and vaping in general.

- [Steve] Yeah, because you grew up and you, both of you grew up at a time when smoking was being, and it still is, still a problem, but much less prevalent than it was.

And now, this is sort of taken over from that.

And you mentioned the fact that you don't come from a background where people smoked anything, basically.

- [Kristen] Mm-hmm.

- [Steve] How was it when you started to encounter people on campus?

Friends, you know, people you became friends with who were vaping and maybe saying, "Oh, you ought to try this.

Let's do, you'll find it's really, it's fun," you know, whatever.

Were you confronted by that kind of peer pressure then from someone who hadn't been smoking anything basically?

- A little bit.

Yeah.

- [Steve] Yeah.

- A little bit for sure.

- [Steve] Yeah.

Now, if you were talking to somebody who was, hasn't begun to vape yet but is saying, "You know, looks like it's kind of neat, it's pretty harmless," what would you tell 'em about that from your experience of people you know that vape?

- I would probably just try and educate them on like the dangers to their future health that vaping can pose.

And part of that is we don't know, like, we know that it's not good for you.

Like you were mentioning like popcorn lung and all these issues that it can cause, but we don't know like the full extent of the future issues that it may cause as well.

So I try and make them aware of like, what we know and also the potential future outcomes for vapers.

- [Steve] Well, the other thing is too, it's not an inexpensive habit.

I mean, relatively speaking, maybe to some other things, but the bottom line is it still costs you money to spend on that.

And I guess that's, can be an issue too.

When you guys first found out about this organization, you obviously finding about in your public health class, was it what you expected?

I mean, have you learned a lot more things that you didn't know about vaping and that before you became involved?

- For sure.

Yeah, it definitely has.

This group has definitely like deepened my knowledge of like vaping and the prevalence of vaping, and also how to like approach it like as a student, how we can talk to other, like students about it.

How we can educate and help prevent that.

- [Steve] Yeah, because we're talking behavioral change here, which is always an entertaining endeavor to undertake with anybody.

So, good, good.

Well, thank you so much for coming on and talking about this.

Thank you for participating in the group and trying to help us deal with this public health issue we have.

So we appreciate it very much.

We'll be back in just a moment with a couple more folks from the Wood County Health Department's Vaping Awareness and Prevention Education Coalition here on "The Journal."

Back right after this.

You're with us on "The Journal."

We're talking about the issue of vaping and the impact it's having on public health at all different levels in terms of age and demographics, but especially at the young adult level.

We're joined by Katlin Medjesky from the Wood County Health Department, and a couple of folks who are part of the Wood County Health Department's Vaping Awareness and Prevention Coalition, Bryanna Evan, and also Lilith Fletcher, who's joining us in this segment.

Katlin, when you first started the idea, you got a grant for this group, how difficult was it to find people who wanted to get involved?

Because you're gonna say, "Hey, join the Vaping Coalition."

That could attract different kind of people.

But did you have any trouble finding people or not?

- So I think it's always hard when you're starting a new group.

- [Steve] Sure.

- But it's, you know, we approached the public health - [Steve] Classes.

- Classes at BG and the Office of Health and Wellness.

We were very fortunate that the director there was also connected to this grant, so.

(laughs) - [Steve] Oh, okay.

Worked out, yeah.

- Again, we have a great partnership with BGSU.

And it started slow, but it built its way up.

It doesn't hurt that we feed them, so.

(laughs) - [Steve] Food's always a good, yeah.

Food's always a good thing.

Yeah.

- [Katlin] And we feed them well, so.

And then they do earn a scholarship at the end of it.

So that's really great.

And I think that that probably makes it a little extra for them.

But I do think that they enjoy their time with us.

(laughs) And, you know, we live in a world where creating connection with each other is a little more difficult.

So this group has really become that.

It's been, it's become a great space for a group of youth, young adults to come together and talk about an issue that is a public health issue that has become prioritized by our state and our federal government.

And it's something that they will all work on because they're all majors that are going into a health field.

- [Steve] Public health field.

Okay.

- [Katlin] So it's kinda, it's got a lot of benefits for them outside.

So, but it was difficult at first.

- [Steve] Sure.

- [Katlin] And it's grown.

And we are now in different spaces in the community where we're working with elementary-aged kiddos and high school kiddos.

And Bryanna, specifically, has worked in a mentor role with those students.

And so I do think that this is going to grow a little bit bigger outside of the college age too.

- [Steve] Sure.

- [Katlin] In the next year or two.

So it started small and it's becoming bigger, so.

(laughs) - Now, Lilith, you're new to the segment here.

So talk a little about your experience with this, your background, and what you see the benefits, not only for you, but the people that you talk with about this.

- So I'm really happy to be joining this group.

I joined last semester.

My public health professor reached out to me.

So I had a minor in public health.

So I was very interested in joining the group.

I want to work in healthcare.

So that's where I see my future going.

I really care about the community, and I felt like joining this group was a really good chance to help the community and meet some new people.

I love hanging out with our little group that we have.

Our monthly meetings are great.

They do feed us very well.

(group laughs) We have a lot of fun, and I feel like we've done a lot of good for our community, a lot of good for BGSU.

We just started an Instagram account too, so hopefully, we reach some more people doing that too.

- Yeah, well, and I think from the perspective of you guys being students, this gives you kind of a headstart on your career because you're sort of involved in the public health field as students, so you can kinda see what it's going to be like and develop those skills as, as someone mentioned, working with people, talking with people, learning how to talk with people, and inform them in a way that they'll be, they'll feel comfortable listening, not being told something, but a way to reach them so they understand why you're explaining things or why you're talking to them.

Bryanna, talk, obviously, Katlin mentioned that you've done, been doing mentoring.

So talk a little about how that works.

Because obviously reaching people at different levels is difficult.

As we said, face-to-face communication isn't what we do so much anymore.

But this is an opportunity for you to do that and develop those skills.

So as you move through your public, your health career, you'll already have some of that taken care of.

- Yeah, so I've been working with the CRC, with a group of youth.

They are working on an art project that talks about the dangers of nicotine and tobacco use.

I mean, it's always been kind of hard for me to like, you know, be in a teacher role, but with them it's super easy because I feel like they look at me where I'm not a teacher and so I'm not like an authority figure, but I'm not like, you know, their age.

So they'll still like listen and, you know, hear what we have to say.

So they're amazing.

It's been super fun working with them.

And I like working with kids.

So, I mean, it makes it easy.

But yeah, it's been really, I mean, it's almost sad to think that they're put in an environment sometimes where like they come into, you know, contact with nicotine and tobacco use where like they could be vulnerable to like, you know, end up using it.

So I think it's really important to start from the beginning, like at a younger age, to talk about like, the effects of it and educate them.

- [Steve] Yeah, well, and you raise a really good point that you are able to talk with them and they will accept you.

Whereas if I walk in and try and do that, they're gonna say, "Well, you know, who's this old guy doing this?"

(group chuckles) Come on, whereas, you're, you know, you can work with them at that level and they understand.

They're more accepting of you because you're more like them.

And that way, they can take advantage of what you're trying to tell them and believe what you're telling 'em versus someone coming and saying, "Here are the rules, follow them," kind of.

- [Bryanna] Yeah.

- [Steve] "Don't do this, don't do that."

You can reach 'em a way that will maybe change their behavior and help them deal with issues that were somewhat probably out of their control with regard to being exposed to nicotine or vaping and that kind of thing too.

You know, Lilith was talking too about the fact that this does give you an opportunity to sort of get used to working with people, which is what you'll be doing in the public or in the health field as you move along.

And that's probably a good career starter for you as well.

- Yes, for sure.

It really is.

And vaping is so prevalent in our community.

It's really important for our healthcare workers to know the signs of addiction and ways that we can help prevent addiction.

- Yeah, that's a very good point because obviously there's, unfortunately, in the health field, there's always something new about the time you believe you've covered a particular topic, something new comes along that requires addressing an issue and developing new techniques, new skills, whatever, to deal with it.

So there's that.

Katlin, if people want to find out more about the V.A.P.E.

Coalition, what's the easiest way for them to do that?

- [Katlin] The easiest way would be to reach out to the health department.

- [Steve] Okay.

Yep.

- [Katlin] So if you, you know, give us a call, somebody will direct you to us, to me or our team.

If there is a need for resources to quit, we have an entire cessation resource toolkit.

It's as easy as calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW for the Ohio quit line.

We can go to different employers and do trainings on those cessation resources for youth.

There's a complete cessation resource just for vaping.

It's LiveVapeFree.com.

And again, we can provide training on that, resources, bookmarks, posters, anything.

Because that's our goal.

We want to prevent youth from ever using.

If they do, we wanna help get them to quit as well as adults.

So, and anytime you see us at a fair or an event, we've got those resources with us too.

- [Steve] Okay, great.

- We approach it with a, we are not judging anybody, we just wanna help.

- [Steve] Wanna help.

Inform and help.

Great.

Yeah.

- Yeah.

- Well, you're doing a great job and we appreciate you guys taking up, all of you who've been on today to talk about this.

'Cause obviously it's a serious issue we need to deal with it as quickly as we can and as intensely as we can.

So appreciate it very much.

So thank you again for being here.

- [Katlin] Thank you.

- You can check us out at wbgu.org.

You can watch us every Thursday night at eight o'clock on WBGU-PBS.

We will see you again next time.

Good night and good luck.

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