Family Health

The Department of Health and several community partners have launched a Vaping Prevention and Awareness Campaign. The campaign includes a series of three public service announcements (PSAs), which were created to help inform parents and guardians about vaping, and to serve as conversation starters for talks with their children and teenagers.

Public Service Announcements:
1. The Health Risks of Vaping in Children featuring Amy Brown, MD, MBe and Shetal Shah, MD.

2. How to Recognize Vape Devices featuring Carolyn D'Agostino of Student Assistance Services

3. Parents Learn How To Talk To Your Kids About Vaping featuring Health Commissioner Sherlita Amler, MD and Daniel A. Cohen, MD a pediatrician at WestMed in Purchase.

NYSDOH Commissioner letter stating, effective September 12, 2019, any business that offers e-cigarettes or e-liquids for sale, must post the attached NYS Department of Health published sign in a conspicuous place. By requiring the posting of this sign, the NYS Department of Health expects that consumers will become more educated about the risks associated with vaping.

Vaping devices, also known as electronic or e-cigarettes, come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some are made to look like regular cigarettes, cigars or pipes. Others are made to resemble pens, USB sticks and other everyday items, such as highlighters, coffee cups, lipsticks and inhalers.

Vaping devices hold liquid that come in many flavors. Children may find this particularly appealing. The liquid can be bought in bottles or prefilled cartridges. Most liquids contain nicotine, a powerful stimulant that is addictive and can impair the developing brain.

Vaping devices/electronic cigarettes are known by different names. Sometimes they are called e-cigs, hookah sticks, mods and vape pens. The top-selling brand is a USB-shaped device called JUUL. Use of an e-cigarette is often called "vaping" or "JUULing."

Vape pens/e-cigarettes can be used to deliver marijuana and other drugs. When used to vape marijuana, they may be referred to by names such as wax, dab, shatter and oil. Vaping marijuana concentrates can be difficult to detect because oftentimes they are odorless.

Many people incorrectly believe that vape pens/e-cigarettes produce a water vapor when they actually produce an aerosol. The aerosol is created by heating a liquid that usually contains nicotine, flavorings and other chemicals. Users inhale this aerosol into their lungs. The aerosol can contain harmful substances, including:

• Nicotine
• Fine toxic particles that can interfere with the growth and work of the lungs and increase the risk of heart disease, lung cancer and asthma attacks
• Flavoring such as diacetyl, a chemical linked to a serious lung disease commonly known as “popcorn lung”
• Volatile organic compounds that can cause cancer
• Cancer-causing chemicals
• Heavy metals such as nickel, tin and lead
• Many of the harmful chemicals found in cigarette smoke

Nicotine use in early adolescence causes changes in the brain that can make life-long addiction much more likely for young e-cig/vape users. Ear, eye and throat irritation is common among e-cigarette/vape users. The aerosols produced by the chemicals enter into the user’s lungs unfiltered and leave chemical residue behind.

Nicotine is known to have effects on the cardiovascular system, too. Some recent studies show that frequent use of e-cigarettes/vape pens may lead to cardiovascular diseases. Other studies show that e-cigarette/vape pen use is associated with the dual use of other tobacco products that are known to cause further health issues, including cancer and heart disease.

The long-term health consequences of vaping are still unknown. However, more and more evidence shows that vaping is not harmless. In addition, while vaping is often marketed as a strategy to quit smoking, there is not enough evidence to support this claim.

In Westchester County, the use of vaping products are prohibited everywhere traditional smoking is restricted.

Resources

• Westchester County Cares - Vaping
  
• Cuidados del condado de Westchester - el Vapeo
• Risks of E-cigarettes for Kids, Teens, and Young Adults CDC
• Teens and E-cigarettes National Institute on Drug Abuse

Make sure that your children are up-to-date on vaccines before school starts. New York State has eliminated religious exemptions for all children attending any public, private or parochial child caring center, day nursery, day care agency, nursery school, kindergarten, elementary, intermediate or secondary schools.

Immunization records are required for entry into and continued attendance in child care, K-12 schools, college, and other post-high school education and training in New York State. More information on the vaccines required for school entry and attendance are available at the NYSDOH website.

To obtain immunization records: Contact your health care provider, not the Westchester County Department of Health, to obtain copies of immunization records for vaccines given in New York State. Read the following carefully as it relates to where you can access immunization records:

• If you were not immunized at a Westchester County Department of Health clinic, then the Westchester County Department of Health does not have your immunization records.
• If you were immunized at a Westchester County Department of Health clinic, your vaccinations were recorded in the New York State Immunization Information System and can be easily accessed by your health care provider at any time.
• If you need immunization records to enroll in school or for work and are unable to locate them, you may have to be re-immunized or take a blood test to provide proof of immunity. Please consult your health care provider.
• If you need MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine to attend school, Westchester County Department of Health clinics can provide it for you at no charge. Please call (914) 995-5800 for an appointment.

Families without health insurance can get help signing up for health coverage by contacting a health department Navigator at (914) 995-6350 or by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Navigators can provide in-person assistance to residents at 25 locations throughout Westchester.

Resources:
Effective June 13, 2019: NYSDOH frequently-asked-questions regarding vaccination requirements applicable to all students

Vaccinating adolescents on time means healthier children, families and communities. Regulations for school attendance require schools to more closely examine students’ immunization records and could result in adolescents not being allowed to start or continue in school if immunizations are not current. These updated regulations provide increased protection against illnesses like whooping cough, which has been reported in school aged children in Westchester, as well as cases of measles and mumps that have occurred in the area.

As your children become preteens or teenagers, ask their doctor about the HPV vaccine, which protects against some cancers, the Tdap vaccine, which is a booster against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis, and the meningococcal vaccine, which protects against meningococcal disease. If your older teen never got the meningococcal vaccine, ask about getting it now, especially if your teenager is about to move into a college dorm.

Take the childhood vaccine quiz to get a customized printout of recommended vaccines.

Harm in delaying or skipping vaccinations
In recent years, there has been a lot of misinformation in the media and on the internet about vaccinations. This has caused some parents to worry that vaccines could cause autism in their children. Unfortunately, this mistaken belief has led many parents to delay or even refuse vaccinations for their children. As a result, outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases are occurring in communities where vaccination rates are low, both here in the United State and around the world. Without vaccines, children are at risk of developing dangerous, even deadly diseases, such as measles, mumps, whooping cough and the flu. For more information about the dangers of not getting vaccinated, visit the New York State Department of Health.

A child can fall victim to bacteria and viruses that cause serious disease. You can provide the best protection for your child by following the recommended immunization schedule. It is important that children receive all of their vaccines on time. You can check the schedule for the age or age range when each vaccine or series of shots is recommended. Talk with your child's healthcare provider about the use of combination vaccines to reduce the number of injections needed.

Take the childhood vaccine quiz to get a customized printout of recommended vaccines.

Harm in delaying or skipping vaccinations
In recent years, there has been a lot of misinformation in the media and on the internet about vaccinations. This has caused some parents to worry that vaccines could cause autism in their children. Unfortunately, this mistaken belief has led many parents to delay or even refuse vaccinations for their children. As a result, outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases are occurring in communities where vaccination rates are low, both here in the United State and around the world. Without vaccines, children are at risk of developing dangerous, even deadly diseases, such as measles, mumps, whooping cough and the flu. For more information about the dangers of not getting vaccinated, visit the New York State Department of Health.

Pediatricians answer vaccine questions
Parents have many questions about the vaccines their children need. To answer these questions, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Sound Advice Web page features a collection of audio interviews with pediatricians, researchers, advocates and other parents.