Over the last 12 months, the use of electronic cigarettes among American teens — including the popular JUUL — has increased a startling 77 percent, according to the Truth Initiative, a website devoted to inspiring tobacco-free lives.

Chris Becker, director of the Limestone County Extension System office in Athens, said he has seen a similar trend in Limestone County. He hopes to fight the unhealthy habit by hiring a tobacco-prevention agent assistant to take the anti-nicotine message into area schools, churches and after-school clubs.

“School counselors have already called us asking for something like this,” Becker said. “There is definitely a demand out there for a tobacco-prevention program that will combat vaping.”

The person hired as the agent assistant will use the Tobacco Prevention Toolkit, a curriculum created by educators and researchers at Stanford University to spread the message about the dangers of inhaling nicotine in any of its forms.

The program is designed to help prevent middle and high school students from using any of the many nicotine-containing products on the market today, including the highly popular e-cigarette, tobacco cigarettes, cigars or cigarillos, chew, hookah and vape pens. The program will help students understand the addictive power and adverse affects nicotine can have on their developing brains and bodies. Students will also learn how to recognize the creative and often deceptive marketing strategies e-cigarette and vape pen manufacturers use to entice young users. Most importantly, students who go through the program will learn how to say no to nicotine when tempted or how to get help if already hooked.

Becker said the qualified candidate for this temporary, part-time position should have an interest in youth and their well-being. He would also like them to be comfortable with public speaking and be a self-starter who can manage their time wisely. The ideal candidate will also have reliable transportation and a high school diploma or GED.

“We want someone who is interested in making a difference,” Becker said. “Given how fast this has become a problem and how bad it is for our children, the person who takes this job has the potential to change lives; to make a difference for someone 20 or 30 years down the road.”

Despite what the average teenager may believe, the overwhelming majority of e-cigarettes, including the JUUL, contain nicotine. In fact, a single JUUL cartridge is roughly equal to a pack of cigarettes, or 200 cigarette puffs, according to the product website.

While the maker of JUUL, which has cornered three quarters of the e-cigarette market in the last year, claims its product is only for adults, research by the Truth Initiative shows teenagers are more likely to use the device than older groups because of the product’s appealing flavors. People age 15 to 17 are 16 times more likely to be current JUUL users than adults between 25 and 34. Developing a nicotine addiction at a young age is particularly problematic because nicotine is harmful to developing brains. Younger users are more likely to become addicted and have more difficulty quitting. They are also at higher risk for addiction to other substances in the future. Despite e-cigarette manufacturer’s claims that their products help tobacco cigarette smokers beat their addiction, research shows young people who vape are more than four times as likely to begin smoking tobacco cigarettes within 18 months compared with their peers who do not vape.

“Our ultimate goal is to reach as many kids as we can with the message that vaping is just as dangerous as cigarettes,” Becker said. “We want to educate kids more about what they are getting into and the longterm effects nicotine can have on them. The decisions they make today will determine their quality of life tomorrow.”

To learn more about the tobacco-prevention assistant agent position, visit https://tinyurl.com/y8egvako.