- Telltale signs of vaping
- Get help if your teen is addicted
- A visual guide to vape products
- What schools are doing about the problem
- Help teens uncover the facts
NICOTINE ADDICTION AND HOW TO HELP
The tobacco industry has hooked millions of teens on nicotine, risking their lung and brain health.

Know The Signs
- Are there sweet, fruity, or menthol smells coming from behind closed doors?
- Are there school supplies or tech products you don’t recognize in your kids’ backpacks or rooms? How about small vials or eye dropper bottles?
- Have you come across unfamiliar chargers, coils, or batteries?
- Is your teen spending more money than usual or making unexplained purchases?
- Have there been changes in your kids’ behavior such as increased mood swings, irritability, anxiety, or impulsivity?
- Are your kids suffering from more frequent headaches or nausea?
- School. Kids are buying and selling vapes in schools, especially disposable products like Puff Bar which can be bought in bulk for a big discount.
- Stores. Alarmingly, nearly one in three kids who buy their own vapes buy them in stores. Clerks at smokeshops and convenience stores don’t always enforce the federal Tobacco 21 law, which prohibits the sale of tobacco products to anyone under 21 years of age.
- Social media. Vape products are all over social media, and many companies promote the sale of their products right from their accounts.
- Websites and online orders. Age verifications are easily bypassed. In fact, kids successfully buy e-cigs online 94% of the time. Orders can also be shipped to the homes if the mail arrives when parent(s) are not home. Many vape companies have names like Posh and Stig that wouldn’t raise a red flag on parents’ credit card statements.
GET HELP
- Talk to your kid. Share what you both know (and think you know) about vaping. Remember, a conversation always beats a lecture.
- Ask your pediatrician to address vaping with your teen. Doctors often explain things in a way kids will listen.
- Find out if your school is addressing vaping and ask school leaders to host educational sessions or activities about vaping for students and parents.
- Ask your Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) to address the teen vaping epidemic with the broader school community.
What if my kid is already addicted?
Toolkits for parents

START THE CONVERSATION
Here's what Californians are saying about the vaping epidemic.
Guides to help you prevent the dangers of vaping

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Get more information and resources on TobaccoFreeCA.com.
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