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Smoke Screen Program held at Prairie du Chien High School

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The Smoke Screen Program was held at Prairie du Chien High School Aug. 20. The program covered the concerns of vaping and social media trends. (Photo by Peyton Meisner)

By Peyton Meisner

 

The Smoke Screen Program was held at Prairie du Chien High School Aug. 20. The program provided an opportunity for adults and parents to learn about e-cigarettes and social media trends among the youth. 

“The notion that only certain types of kids are vaping is no longer the case, all kinds of kids are doing it these days,” said Sonya Lenzendorf, Crawford County Public Health educator.

While smoking rates among teenagers have gone down in the past few years, vaping rates have gone up significantly Lenzendorf noted.

“The long-term effects of vaping are still not known at this time, as these devices are still relatively new,” she said.

This program comes as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported Wednesday that there are 153 possible cases of severe lung disease linked to vaping in 16 states, including Wisconsin and Iowa.

The program also focused on youth and the role of social media in their lives. A video was shown by YouTuber Colby Persin that showed how easily young adults can be fooled into meeting up with strangers.

The program also talked about the consequences of excessive screen time which can include sleep disturbances, obesity and risky behavior. 

“This was the third community in the county we were at. At each event participants expressed how much they learned and that they plan to talk with their kids, implement new rules or use what they learned to help youth be informed and make healthy choices. They all express they wish more people came. We hope these events are just a start of the community discussion about youth vaping and social media use,” Lenzendorf said. 

Through grant funding received from the Leary Peterson Foundation, the Prairie du Chien Police Department is focusing on outreach to increase awareness for parents and students of the dangers of the use of drugs and vaping devices through several different forms. “We will continue our presentations with the Developmental Guidance classes at Bluffview Intermediate and we will be adding to our initiative events like the Smoke Screen program that was held on Tuesday. In addition to those, we will have informational booths at all home football games, several home boys and girls varsity basketball games, the athletic code meeting (held last week), Freshmen Orientation and other various school events over the next school year. We will also be setting up a “Hidden in Plain Sight” display at a few of those events to educate parents on things to look for in their child’s room or backpack that could be associated with drug use and/or vaping,” said Kyle Teynor, Prairie du Chien chief of police.

“These efforts are not about punishment in the form of citations and court appearances.  These efforts are about education for both children and their parents about the dangers, both known and unknown, and how to have open communication with their children to address the use or potential use,” he added.

The program was a collaboration between Clarity Clinic of SW WI, Crawford County Health & Human Services, Crawford County Sheriff’s Department, Prairie du Chien Police Department and Seneca, Wauzeka-Steuben, Prairie du Chien and North Crawford School Districts.

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