Starting this month, Tobacco Free Wichita has begun a partnership through the end of June 2019 with VYPE-South Central KS Magazine titled “We Won’t Get Fooled Again” to educate parents, students, and teachers about the harms of electronic cigarettes.

The free monthly magazine will feature area high school students who understand that vaping is tobacco’s latest trick to hook a new generation of nicotine addicts. Students will urge all students to “Get In the Game” and join the fight against Big Tobacco.

The January 2019 edition not only includes the ad above, but displays a full-page an editorial by VYPE Owner/Publisher, Mike Cooper, as he explains why this partnership between TFW and VYPE is so important.

Cooper’s thoughts regarding Big Tobacco:

Tobacco companies “knew exactly what they were doing – targeting young people to get them hooked and keep them as paying customers for life. They were forced to spend millions on “prevention” campaigns mostly aimed at young people. I always found it confusing and frankly ridiculous that those millions were not invested in telling people they must stop smoking but rather to casually let people know that smoking could be bad for you, and, if you are a young person, you should wait until you are older to start. The goal and the business plan were not to stop smoking and stop the money machine that the addiction provided the tobacco companies. The goal was to appease the masses: the doctors, the lawyers, the insurance companies, politicians and public that demanded they be held accountable for knowing and [failing to] admit the dangers. The goal was never to put the tobacco companies out of business. Unfortunately.”

Cooper continues, “However, the millions spent on prevention actually worked especially with teenagers! Teenage smoking declined steadily from 1997 and was at an all-time low in 2015 from 37% to 11%. Less teen smoking also resulted in less adult smoking. Awesome!”

“This [declining] trend was a big problem for the Tobacco companies” declares Cooper. “The money machine was not being fed. The tobacco companies are very smart and extremely business and profit savvy. Enter the e-cigarette. Tobacco’s new tool to hook the young and maintain the adults to feed the machine. Let’s create a “new” delivery method that addresses many of the medical concerns of cigarettes, has appealing flavors, fancy packaging and marketing but also keeps our best player in the game…nicotine.”

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TFW is excited to see the impact this campaign will have on area high school students and parents. Keep an eye out for February’s VYPE Magazine, which will have a feature article about TFW and our views on the harms caused by electronic cigarettes.

For the complete editorial and TFW ad, click HERE

About VYPE: VYPE High School Sports Magazine was born in 2005 with the premise and passion to recognize the accomplishments of student athletes on and off the field. In 2007, VYPE High School Sports Magazine Central Kansas came to the Wichita market and has honored thousands of student athletes not only for their athletic achievement but also for their academic excellence, community service and unique stories that are not covered by other traditional media. VYPE has become the undisputed choice for parents and high school students to read about the lifestyle of high school athletics. Think of VYPE as the “Sports Illustrated” for high school!