Petersburg and Wrangell have long had a friendly rivalry in sports and other activities. Now, Petersburg Indian Association is capitalizing on that relationship in a new effort to fight E-cigarettes.
The tribe’s Tobacco Prevention and Control program is working with a similar program in Wrangell in a poster competition. It’s in collaboration with the National Native Network and looks at how E-cigarette companies are targeting youth.
According to the Youth Risk Behavior Survey done by the State of Alaska, teen vaping rose from 15% in 2015 to 28% in 2019.
Victoria Shay runs PIA’s program. She says a thirteen percent increase is huge in just a four year period.
She says for the poster awareness competition, there are prizes along with bragging rights. But there is a time limit. The program runs January 11-22.
Shay spoke with KFSK’s Angela Denning about the event. She says that E-cigarette companies advertise according to changing trends. Most recently, they have taken advantage of people during COVID-19.
To get more information about the poster rivalry, go to PIA’s Facebook page.
To get help quitting tobacco you can call Alaska’s Quit Line at 1-800-QUIT-NOW.
Or text “READY” to 200-400.
