SRSLY on Manchester students & smoking cigarettes

submitted by Michaela Buckhannon, SRSLY Manchester

According to the 2018 Michigan Profile for Healthy Youth (MiPHY), 98% of Manchester High School students have not used tobacco products in the past 30 days and 99% of Manchester Middle School students have not used tobacco products in the past 30 days.

Nationally 8% of high school students reported smoking cigarettes in the last 30 days. While this number is lower than in years past, the National Institute on Health has extrapolated that approximately each year 5,200 Michigan kids under the age of 18 become new daily smokers, and that 213,000 kids will ultimately die prematurely from smoking.

It’s crazy to think that this is from the years and years of research that society has regarding tobacco and nicotine use. Who knows what these long term extrapolations might look like for vaping? Especially since we know that according to the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health our national rate of high school students who report vaping in the last 30 days is at 20.8%, more than double what it is for cigarette smoking.

Manchester parents care about their kids. Parents want their children to live long and healthy lives. What a lot of people don’t realize is that smoking kills more people than alcohol, AIDS, car crashes, illegal drugs, gun violence, murders, and suicides combined (NIH). 

Take the time and talk with your kids about your expectations regarding tobacco and nicotine. It’s not just cigarettes, chew, and hookahs anymore.  

Know anyone interested in quitting? Help is confidential and free. Adults can text or call 1-800-784-8669. Teens can text or call My Life, My Quit at 855-891-9989.

Concerned about a student? A Project Success Counselor can meet with students at school for a screening, brief intervention, or referral for services. Check us out at www.stjoeschelsea.org/projectsuccess or contact 734-548-5077

Interested in Joining SRSLY?  Contact us at info@srslymanchester.org.

For as little as $1 a month, you can keep Manchester-focused news coverage alive.

by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.