Take a Breath: Teen Voices on Tobacco & Vaping POSTER CONTEST

Posted on October 28, 2022

Q: What is the Take a Breath: Teen Voices on Tobacco & Vaping Poster Contest?
A: We are looking for original artwork that shares a message about the impact of youth
smoking/tobacco and vaping, inspired by one of the following themes:

The importance of ceremonial tobacco for Indigenous traditions, and how it differs from every day (commercial) tobacco use
Important facts about smoking/tobacco and vaping products
Tobacco and vaping companies’ strategies to promote use
Impact of smoking/tobacco and vaping on my life
Environmental impact of smoking/tobacco and vaping

Q: Why is this important?
A: Youth know better than adults about youth smoking/tobacco use and vaping. It is important to
hear youth voices and views on how tobacco and/or vaping impacts them and their friends, family,
school and community.

Youth vaping has increased over the past five years. Vaping and smoking rates in the Interior Health
region are higher than the provincial average. According to the McCreary Centre Society’s
Understanding Tobacco Use and Vaping Among BC Youth report:

Youth were more likely to have vaped in the past month than to have ever tried smoking tobacco (27 percent vs. 19 percent).
Rural-based youth were more likely than those from urban areas to have vaped (33 percent vs. 27 percent). However, unlike tobacco use, where youth in the Interior were as likely to
have smoked as those in the Northern and Vancouver Island regions, youth in the Interior were the most likely to have vaped.
In the month before taking the survey, 6 percent of youth had both vaped and smoked cigarettes; 21 percent had vaped and not smoked cigarettes; and 1 percent had smoked
cigarettes and not vaped.
Among youth who smoked tobacco in the past month, around half had been smoking for at least two years, including 19 percent who had first smoked at least four years earlier.
The increase in youth nicotine use is concerning.

Q: Who is eligible to participate?
A: Youth in Grades 8-12 who live in the Interior Health region are eligible to submit an original piece
of artwork in a poster format.