Panel Discussion on E-Cigarettes - May 19 at Century High School

A live panel discussion on e-cigarettes will be held on May 19, 2014 from 7:00 to 8:30pm in the Century High School Forum. Panelists will discuss the associated health risks of e-cigarettes, state and local perspectives on the issue, and school policies with regard to e-cigarettes. Adults and middle/high school students are welcome. Panelists include:

• Pete Giesen, Director of Public Health, Olmsted County
• Dr. Michael Burke, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center
• Erin Simmons, American Lung Association
• Mark Kuisle, Rochester Public Schools, Activities Director, Century High School 

There is increasing evidence of the negative impact of e-cigarette use on children and teens. A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report showed that e-cigarette use more than doubled among U.S. middle and high school students from 2011-2012. Researchers from the Center for Tobacco Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco, reported that trying e-cigarettes increased the odds that a teenager would also try tobacco cigarettes and become regular smokers. And the Minnesota Poison Control System (Poison Center) saw more than 10 times as many reports of children and teens being poisoned by e-cigarette juice in 2013 compared to 2012.

The panel discussion is co-sponsored by the Century High School PTSA, Mayo High School PTSA, Friedell Middle School PTSA, John Adams Middle School PTSA and the Rochester Area Council.

CLICK HERE FOR A FLYER ON THE PANEL DISCUSSION