Getting Started with Advocacy to Protect Kids in Your Own Community

Community-level advocacy is critical to the fight to protect our kids. Join us in this pre-conference session to learn how you can begin advocating in your own community and make real change. Led by PAVe “MOMvocate” staff and volunteers.

• Lori Bremner, California Grassroots Manager, Parents Against Vaping e-cigarettes (PAVe)
• Maren Lopez, California Volunteer, Parents Against Vaping e-cigarettes (PAVe)
• Julie Reinhard, Maryland Volunteer, Parents Against Vaping e-cigarettes (PAVe)

Youth Prevention Efforts in Spanish-speaking Communities

What challenges exist in supporting Spanish-speaking parents of teens, and how can we make sure they are getting the information and support all parents need, given health disparities and language barriers for this specific population?

• Norma Benitez, Director of the Network of Promotoras and CHWs, Visión y Compromiso
• Alison K. Herrmann, PhD, Associate Director, UCLA Kaiser Permanenete Center for Health Equity & UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
• Eduardo Sanchez, MD, MPH, FAAFP, Chief Medical Officer for Prevention, American Heart Association
• Marcela Gaitán, M.P.H., M.A. (Moderator), Senior Director for External Relations, National Alliance for Hispanic Health

Opening Remarks | Dina Alessi, Meredith Berkman & Dorian Fuhrman
Co-founders and Volunteers, Parents Against Vaping e-cigarettes (PAVe)

Opening Keynote | Nora D. Volkow, M.D.
Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Emerging Health-Harms Research

The research is clear: e-cigarettes are harmful, especially for our kids’ developing lungs and brains. Medical experts in pulmonology, cardiology and pediatrics boil down the latest evidence about the dangerous impact flavored nicotine products are having on adolescent public-health now and, sadly, in the future.

• Jessica L. Fetterman, PhD, Assistant Professor, Boston University School of Medicine
• Panagis Galiatsatos, MD, Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins
• Karen Wilson, MD, MPH, Debra and Leon Black Professor of Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; PAVe Advisory Board Member
• Candace McKnight (Moderator), Risk Manager, Orlando Health; Florida PAVe Volunteer

Video Remarks from the Honorable Raja Krishnamoorthi,
Member of Congress, 8th District of Illinois, U.S. House of Representatives

Youth Addiction and Treatment: Challenges and Opportunities

How do I help my child quit vaping? It’s the most common question we hear from desperate parents, and there’s still not one straight answer. In this session, clinicians and experts in youth addiction discuss what research tells us about best practice and how to get e-cigarette dependent, nicotine-addicted teens the help and support they need.

• Jonathan Avery, MD, Director of Addiction Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medical College; PAVe Advisory Board Member
• Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin, Professor of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine
• Monica Wilson (Moderator), Assistant Professor / Regional Director, Psychology Department, National University; California PAVe Volunteer

Video Remarks from the Honorable Mitt Romney
U.S. Senator, Utah, United States Senate

SPECIAL ISSUE BREAKOUT
Big Tobacco’s Exploitation of Communities with Health Inequities

The industry has historically targeted specific populations with menthol, marketing, and promotional tactics. This session will cover the targeting of LGBTQ and Indigenous populations, public-health implications, and ways in which companies can be held accountable.

• Gabriel Glissmeyer, Project Specialist, National LGBT Cancer Network
• Rae O’Leary, Public Health Analyst, Missouri Breaks Research
• Meredith Berkman (Moderator), Co-founder and Volunteer, Parents Against Vaping e-cigarettes (PAVe)

SPECIAL ISSUE BREAKOUT
Environmental Impact of E-cigarettes

Nicotine is a neurotoxin and can be a biohazard, and all e-cigarettes contain lithium-ion batteries. With the 1000% increase in single-use vapes among high school users last year, what is the environmental impact of e-cigarettes? What should be done by vaping companies, government and individuals to mitigate this damage?

• Hudson Kingston, Staff Attorney, Public Health Law Center
• Jeremiah Mock, PhD, Associate Professor, University of California San Francisco
• Christina Curell, MPH (Moderator), Education Manager, Parents Against Vaping e-cigarettes (PAVe)

SPECIAL ISSUE BREAKOUT
Youth Perspective: Ask Us Anything

We’ve seen the statistics, but now hear the personal stories. These young people have lived the youth vaping epidemic on the frontlines and in real-time.

• Daniel Jeffrey Ament, President, Fight4Wellness
• Gianluca Barecchia, College Leader, Truth Initiative®
• Jessica Jordan, Special Projects Intern, National LGBT Cancer Network
• Liv, Youth Leadership Committee
• Deidre Sully, MPH (Moderator), Director, NYC Smoke-Free

SPECIAL ISSUE BREAKOUT
How to Speak with your Child About Vaping

Whether or not they are vaping, our kids need our support to avoid or quit vaping. Join PAVe with Dr. Sarper Taskiran, Senior Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist from the Child Mind Institute for tips and guidance on how to reach your child and keep the conversation open.

• Sarper Taskiran, MD, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, Child Mind Institute; PAVe Advisory Board Member
• Mimi Boublik (Moderator), Director of Education and Volunteer, Parents Against Vaping e-cigarettes (PAVe)

SPONSORED BREAKOUT
Tackling the Continuum of Teen Vaping: Prevention, Intervention, & Cessation Messages that Work

As teen vaping has matured from an alarming new trend to a stubborn ongoing crisis, patterns have emerged in how teens think about vaping across the continuum of use. Through focus groups and surveys in over a dozen states, the Rescue team has documented consistent patterns in messages that work for different phases of use. During this session, Jeff Jordan will dissect the messaging strategies that work to prevent vaping initiation by susceptible teens, convince experimenting teens to re-think their behaviors, and motivate regular users to quit or sign-up for cessation support. By identifying what teens are saying is most motivating for them to avoid or stop vaping, we can be better equipped to tackle the new teen vaping challenges of a post-COVID world.

• Jeff Jordan, MA, President & Executive Creative Director, Rescue | The Behavior Change Agency

Video Remarks from Noah Joshua Phillips
Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission

Federal Issues in 2021 and Beyond

The FDA could—and should—remove all flavored e-cigarettes from the market immediately. It should also move quickly to remove all other flavored tobacco products such as menthol cigarettes. This expert panel will discuss the difficulties and opportunities that lie ahead in the urgent fight to end the sale of all flavored e-cigarettes and how national strategies such as strong federal policies and advocacy, combined with public prevention education and cessation programs can achieve this end. Learn how parents can help make this happen.

• Mark Gottlieb, JD, Executive Director, Public Health Advocacy Institute at Northeastern University
• Robin Koval, CEO and President, Truth Initiative®
• Matthew L. Myers, President, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
• Dorian Fuhrman (Moderator), Co-founder and Volunteer, Parents Against Vaping e-cigarettes (PAVe)

Video Remarks from the Honorable Richard Blumenthal
U.S. Senator, Connecticut, United States Senate

The Next Trojan Horse: “Wellness” Vapes & Other New Products

The industry is shapeshifting, as it always does. Learn about an emerging category of flavored vape products that claim to be healthy, containing melatonin, B-vitamins, and essential oils. We’ll also discuss flavored nicotine pouches, lozenges and gum.

• Alicia Casey, MD, Wellness Vaping Products, Boston Children's Hospital
• Jensen Jose, JD, Regulatory Counsel, Center for Science in the Public Interest
• Achala Talati, DO, MS, MPH (Moderator), Director of Tobacco Policy and Programs, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

State Attorneys General and the Use of Litigation

One critical tactic to fight the targeting of our kids by tobacco and vaping companies is through litigation for illegal practices. Join us with two leading champions, Attorneys General Maura Healey (MA) and Josh Stein (NC) for a discussion on the role of state AGs and where litigation can succeed.

• Honorable Maura Healey, Attorney General, Massachusetts
• Honorable Josh Stein, Attorney General, North Carolina
• Erin King Sweeney, Esq. (Moderator), Volunteer, Parents Against Vaping e-cigarettes (PAVe)

Video Remarks from Dr. Stanton Glantz

• Dr. Stanton Glantz, Professor of Medicine (retired), University of California San Francisco
• Meredith Berkman (Moderator), Co-founder and Volunteer, Parents Against Vaping e-cigarettes (PAVe)

Fighting Menthol: Past, Present and Future

In 2009, the federal government banned all flavored cigarettes, leaving menthol—used by almost 90% of all African-American smokers--on the market. And it’s not a surprise. Big Tobacco has used menthol, the most highly-addictive flavor, to target and market directly to African-American communities for decades, creating generational nicotine addiction and leading to hundreds of thousands of deaths. Join this session to understand menthol as a social-justice issue. We will also discuss the latest ways the industry is using menthol—with e-cigarettes and the proliferation of new “iced” mentholated flavors—to hook a next generation of lifetime customers. This panel will explain why there should be one focused legislative fight: ending the sale not only of all flavored cigarettes but of all menthol and other flavored tobacco products.

• Dr. Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, Professor of Pediatrics, Stanford University / Tobacco Prevention Toolkit; PAVe Advisory Board Member
• Joelle M. Lestor, Director of Commercial Tobacco Control Programs, Public Health Law Center
• Carol McGruder, Co-Chair, African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council (AATCLC); PAVe Advisory Board Member
• Meredith Berkman (Moderator), Co-founder and Volunteer, Parents Against Vaping e-cigarettes (PAVe)

4:10 PM

Video Remarks from the Honorable Frank Pallone, Jr
Member of Congress, 6th District of New Jersey, U.S. House of Representatives

The Role of Schools: Best Practice and Innovations

School boards and administrators can feel overwhelmed by the impact of the youth vaping epidemic that they are watching unfold on the ground in real time, a growing threat not only to student health but to overall school culture. Panelists will share research and insights on best practices; and discuss the importance of moving away from punitive solutions and towards alternatives to suspension. to suspension.

• Donna K. Crawford, MA, Director, Healthy Schools and Communities Program, Alliance for a Healthier Generation
• Steven H. Kelder, PhD, MPH, Professor of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas, School of Public Health
• Gregg Wieczorek, Principal, Arrowhead Union High School, Wisconsin; President-elect, NASSP
• Jeremy Hansen (Moderator), Assistant Principal, Rancho Cucamonga High School, California

Video Remarks from the Honorable Dick Durbin
U.S. Senator, Illinois, United States Senate

Closing Remarks | Dina Alessi, Meredith Berkman & Dorian Fuhrman
Co-founders and Volunteers, Parents Against Vaping e-cigarettes (PAVe)