As part of a new American Heart Association e-cigarettes initiative, a new partnership between the association and high schools aims to take on the growing e-cigarette industry, by demanding that makers of e-cigarettes take accountability for allegedly marketing e-cigarettes and vape products to teens.

The American Heart Association has launched #QuitLyingDay, in conjunction with high schools around the country. This community engagement initiative is an attempt to help curb the growing consumption of vapes and e-cigarettes by young people. The events for #QuitLyingDay started on January 16 and continue through January 31.

The American Heart Association e-cigarettes campaign stresses that vaping is not as safe as teens may believe. Clarksville Now explains that e-cigarettes can contain a surprising amount of nicotine. Reportedly, one nicotine pod can contain as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes. 

Clarksville Now goes on to say that teens are particularly susceptible to developing a nicotine addiction because their brains are still developing. The FDA elaborates on this issue, saying that because teens’ brains are still in the process of developing, consuming nicotine during this period can create a powerful nicotine addiction that can last years or even a lifetime.

According to the American Heart Association e-cigarettes campaign and many other critics, e-cigarettes may have capitalized on teen vulnerabilities and teen culture in marketing their products. As Vox lays out, e-cigarette companies may have intentionally marketed their products to teens by offering e-cig flavors that mimic food and candy. Additionally, the e-cigarettes themselves are small electronic devices, attractive to tech-savvy teens and possibly easy to hide from parents, says Vox.

The American Heart Association’s website explains that #QuitLyingDay is just one part of a broader public health initiative called End the Lies Youth Vaping and Nicotine Research Initiative. 

Through this initiative, the association aims to better understand the health effects of e-cigarettes, and how youth behavior and addiction may play into the growing e-cigarette industry. 

The initiative also aims to change policies and laws around e-cigarettes. According to the American Heart Association, the effects of e-cigarette use on the heart, blood vessels, brain, and lungs are not well understood. In an effort to protect the public, the AHA aims to promote increased relegation and oversight in regards to the e-cigarette market. 

The AHA aims to request that the FDA remove flavored e-cigarettes from the market and ban flavored tobacco products of any kind, which could perhaps curb teen use of vape products. 

American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown goes so far as to say that the current marketing for e-cigarettes is not legal, but is allowed to continue because the FDA “are not doing their job.” One major part of the End the Lies Youth Vaping and Nicotine Research initiative is to prohibit e-cigarette companies from marketing to kids and hold them to similar standards as traditional tobacco.

The AHA also advocates to have the age for tobacco use increased to 21 years old, to further protect young people.