Our neighborhood, Jamaica Queens, has suffered greatly as a result of vaping, and we must act! 

Vaping has detrimental impacts on the body, including increased risk of heart and lung diseases. "E-cigarettes produce a number of dangerous chemicals including acetaldehyde, acrolein, and formaldehyde”, according to the American Lung Association. Vaping not only impacts the people who are smoking it (a vape), but also impacts the community and people around who are using it. Vaping poisons wildlife and pollutes our soil and water, leaving us with unhealthy drinking water and contaminated soil. 

The community's numerous smoke shops are the primary effect of vaping. Children have been more inclined to attempt vaping in communities with a greater concentration of tobacco shops. The popularity of e-cigarettes among youth is alarming. In 2019, more than one in six (15.2%) New York City high school students reported using e-cigarettes. Nearly five times as many high school students use e-cigarettes than smoke cigarettes.

Further, in 2018, one in 15 (6.7%) middle school students reported using e-cigarettes. E-cigarette use was higher among older students, with one in 11 (9%) seventh grade students reporting use, compared to one in 38 (2.6%) in sixth grade. As with high school students, e-cigarette use was much more common than cigarette use. To date, this number has grown tremendously as we continue to notice the increasing number of smoke shops in our community.

Unfortunately, some smoke shops in our community do sell narcotics and vape pens to minors. When kids experiment with vaping, their peers may observe them and want to emulate them. The human brain develops at 25. Therefore, when minors smoke they are negatively impacting the part of their brain that provides the function of learning and memory retention. 

Smoke stores also take up space in the neighborhood. We could have more grocery stores with fresh produce to help reduce food insecurity, instead of smoke shops. But sadly there's little amount of gardens and super markets  compared to deli’s, there's a big difference for example grocery stores and community gardens combined is about 1,196 or more. But deli’s are over 4 times more, with a total of more than 13,000 and most of them do sell vapes.