James Thommes
APR 12, 2023

Even with decades of memorable warnings and data, young people still face the same – and new – health risks from tobacco-related products

Don’t be a butthead.” “Smoke free is the way to bee.” The “ugly truth.” It may have taken 30 years of campaigning, but high school students in Illinois have largely kicked the habit of smoking traditional cigarettes, according to the Illinois Youth Survey conducted by the University of Illinois. While smoking traditional cigarettes has declined (now at approximately 5% of high school students in the state), vapes – a type of electronic cigarette with chemical cartridges – are the number one tobacco-related product used by adolescents.

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Fewer Illinois teens are smoking cigarettes, but we have more work to do

Even with decades of memorable warnings and data, young people still face the same – and new – he...