The City of Jacksonville and Daily’s are teaming up on a new campaign to educate middle and high school students about the dangers that vaping poses to teenagers.
Daily’s and the city are contributing $100,000 each to the campaign, according to Mayor Lenny Curry's office.
Curry, At-Large Group 2 City Councilman Ron Salem and Daily’s President & CEO Aubrey Edge will be talking in more detail about the campaign Tuesday at a 3 p.m. news conference.
Tuesday afternoon story update: Listen to an interview with Councilman Salem about the vaping awareness program
In October, Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees said the state has had 68 cases of vaping-related illnesses in 21 counties and one confirmed death. Rivkees also told members of the Senate Health Policy Committee that illnesses have been reported in Florida for people from ages 15 to 72, with 8 percent of the cases reported in children under 18.
Vaping is threatening to hook a new generation of young people on nicotine, according to U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams.
"I am officially declaring e-cigarette use among youth an epidemic in the United States," Adams said in December 2018.
The U.S. surgeon general's advisory calls on parents and teachers to educate themselves about the variety of e-cigarettes and to talk with children about their dangers.
Councilman Salem will be discussing the new awareness program being launched in Jacksonville Tuesday morning on First Coast Connect with Melissa Ross, which airs at 9 a.m. on 89.9 FM and streams on WJCT.org.
Bill Bortzfield can be reached at bbortzfield@wjct.org, 904-358-6349 or on Twitter at @BortzInJax.
