Undergraduate students enrolled in the Department of Communication's filmmaking COMM 3030 course during the 2019 Fall semester were assigned to produce a 30-second public service announcement (PSA) video about electronic cigarettes. The group of students submitted 13 videos.
A panel of judges representing content expertise (tobacco, e-cigarettes, and cessation), communications and video production, and intended audience members (three graduate students pursuing the Master of Education in Counselor Education degrees) reviewed the PSAs and determined the awards.
The Dangers of E-cigarettes
Electronic cigarettes are a kind of tobacco product also known as e-cigarettes, e-cigs, vapes, vape pens, e-hookahs, mods, tank systems and electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS).
At this time, we cannot say that e-cigarettes cause cancer because the long-term effects are not fully understood. However, the e-cigarette liquid (e-liquid, juice, e-juice, smoke-juice) does contain chemicals and heavy metals that are known to cause cancer and the recent escalation of fatal and severe lung injury due to chemicals in e-cigarettes is cause for concern.
Lung injury and deaths from e-cigarettes
Currently, our country is experiencing a national outbreak of severe lung injury and deaths affecting e-cigarette users. During 2019, among electronic cigarette users, our country experienced an outbreak of more than 2,500 severe lung injuries (ages 13-78 years) and 54 deaths (ages 17-75 years).
Recommendations
Tobacco and cessation specialists at the Georgia Cancer Center recommend:
There is no safe tobacco product, including electronic cigarettes/vapes. Quit now for life!
In Students' Own Words, Fall 2019
"This assignment has helped me be an advocate for leading people away from e-cigarettes."
"I can't view e-cigarettes the same anymore."
"It was cool to learn about e-cigs and their effects. My opinion on e-cigs has changed; I realized how bad they are."
"I learned about how bad e-cigs actually are. I have been able to tell my friends that use them the facts I learned."
