• by Larissa Faw , September 3, 2020

The American Lung Association (ALA) is joining forces with the Ad Council to help educate parents about the dangers of youth vaping.

According to new research conducted by the Ad Council and C+R Research, only 2 in 5 parents are confident that they can influence their child not to vape.

The “Get Your Head Out of the Cloud” campaign is designed to empower parents of 10-14 year olds to get the facts and take action.

The PSAs, developed pro bono by Hill Holliday, show parents expressing their ignorance around e-cigarettes while directing them to the TalkAboutVaping.org hub for free educational resources, conversation starters, and statistics about youth vaping to help them have productive and repeated conversations with their kids about vaping.

Additionally, celebrities including Alysia Reiner, Marlee Matlin and Rosie Mercado are creating videos for their respective audiences about the risks of vaping and the importance of ongoing conversations between parents and children about the unhealthy habit.

“We know there is a serious knowledge gap among parents about the dangers and prevalence of youth vaping throughout the country – many are confused about the risks and unaware that nearly 8,000 kids start vaping every day,” stated Lisa Sherman, CEO/President, Ad Council.

Other components include the Vape-Free Schools Initiative to help educators address the surge of youth vaping. There’s also a targeted advocacy plan to impact e-cigarette policies at local, state and federal levels and $2 million in research funding to understand the effects of vaping on developing lungs.