I am 17-years-old and I live in the Belmont section of the Bronx. Over the past couple of weeks, I have had the opportunity to work with NYC Smoke-Free at Public Health Solutions. Their teen advocacy program, Reality Check, helped me to learn more about Big Tobacco and its impact on teenagers.

I learned a lot about tobacco use and its influence among teenagers. Did you know that in the Bronx an alarming 1,000 public high school students smoke cigarettes? I became more concerned about tobacco use when I started learning about youth exposure to non-traditional tobacco products such as e-cigarettes. I am writing to you because I am concerned about this new trend of e-cigarette use among teens and young adults. My peers and I as well as young children are being exposed to e-cigarettes and this exposure is re-normalizing the use of tobacco and similar products in our society.

Did you know that e-cigarettes contain nicotine? Because they contain nicotine, they are considered a tobacco product. Since we are still young, we are still growing and our brains are still developing. Nicotine and other chemicals put in e-cigarettes can hinder our growth by affecting our ability to achieve good grades and make good decisions in life in addition to other health problems. Nicotine in e-cigarettes is also very addictive and can lead to the use of other tobacco products. I don’t want my friends to use these products and become exposed to the risks because they were unaware of the dangers of using e- cigarettes.

I am also worried about my friends and peers who are exposed to e-cigarettes in the communities we live in. You can go to any convenience store in the Bronx and see e-cigarette products behind the register. Sometimes when I am outside the store, I see ads in the form of stickers on the glass doors. This bothers me because the ads are so inviting and are used as a way to pressure me and my peers into trying e-cigarettes even though these products can harm us. Tobacco companies just want to create new smokers, “replacement smokers” for the 12,000 New Yorkers who die of tobacco-related illnesses every year. The youth are their targets and it’s unfair!

The e-cigarette business is damaging to our society. The more people these companies attract, the more money they make and the more people are likely to fall prey to the tobacco industry’s tactics. Thanks to programs like NYC Smoke-Free Reality Check, I have been able to help protect my peers from the dangers of tobacco products like e-cigarettes.

Katherine Mendoza is a high school student from the Bronx.