April 3rd and 4th, 2019
LowCountry Alliance for Healthy Youth (LCAHY) invited Reston Hartsell, a member of the South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services, to present at two community forums and two school assemblies (Bluffton High and Hilton Head Christian Academy) on the dangers of e-cigarettes and vaping. Teens for Healthy Youth (THY), an initiative of LCAHY, hope that the information presented during the assemblies by Hartsell will encourage their peers to not vape and make informed and healthy decisions. THY Bluffton President, Grey Ann Cummings, pointed out that the long-term effects of these products have not been studied and more research needs to be done. Audrey Weidner, a member of Bluffton THY, reported that her peers were surprised to learn that vaping products contain harmful chemicals and are more potent than students realize. LCAHY and THY hopes that informing students and community members of the dangers of vaping can curb the sharp increase of youth use of vaping products.