When smokers dial (800) QUIT-NOW, they can work with a coach, over the phone, to understand triggers, manage cravings and grapple with relapse.
The eligibility age for the Colorado QuitLine was 15. Now, with the explosion in teen vaping, the state health department will drop it to 12. The change comes as the state scrambles to head off what public health officials say is a catastrophe.
“It’s a very troubling trend,” said Alison Reidmohr, tobacco communication specialist with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. “And we reduced the age of eligibility understanding that kids as young as middle school could be using these products, could be concerned about their use of these products and might want to quit.”
Colorado leads 37 states in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey of teen electronic-cigarette use. Twenty-seven percent of high school students in the state say they now use an e-vaping product, twice the national average.
About 10 percent of those enrolled in the state’s QuitLine say they use e-cigarettes or vaping products.
Read the rest of the story at Colorado Public Radio.
