Stanford Professor to Deliver WE CARE Speaker Series Lecture on Adolescent E-Cigarette Use

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Professor Bonnie Halpern-Felsher

New electronic cigarette products that include nicotine, THC and other ingredients are infiltrating the market, including disposable e-cigarettes, e-cigarettes shaped like watches, highlighters and other household products, and even "non-nicotine" e-cigarettes. Children, adolescents and young adults are using these products more often than combustible cigarettes.

Stanford University professor Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, founder and executive director of Tobacco Prevention Toolkit, will discuss this topic during her presentation "Adolescent E-cigarette Use: What's Going On and How to Prevent and Reduce Use" at 4 p.m. CST Tuesday, Jan. 23, in the Graduate Education Building auditorium (room 163) on the U of A campus.

The campus community and the public are invited to attend. A Zoom option (passcode DffYJ?4K) is also available.

This lecture is the second in a WE CARE Speaker Series hosted by the College of Education and Health Professions, featuring lectures by prominent scholars with broad appeal across education and health.

Halpern-Felsher will offer an overview of various e-cigarette products, including nicotine levels, addiction and other health effects, as well as the marketing around these products. The presentation will then focus on several Stanford REACH Lab-created evidence-based curricula and resources that can be used to help prevent and reduce the use of e-cigarettes.

"Dr. Halpern-Felsher's curriculums are being used across the country to educate students of all ages about tobacco and cannabis products," said Page Dobbs, associate professor of public health and co-director of the College of Education and Health Professions' Center for Public Health and Technology. "Her work has been instrumental in creating policies at the local, state and national levels that truly create change in behavior. It is an absolute honor to have her speak on our campus."

Dean Kate Mamiseishvili noted that impactful research is one of the college's key strategic plan priorities. The speaker series is among various strategies for promoting a culture of research excellence. "We're excited to host conversations like these as we work together to promote innovative solutions in the caring professions," she said.

In addition to the lecture, Halpern-Felsher will hold networking meetings with faculty and engage with new faculty in the college as part of the Early-Career Faculty Research Engagement and Mentoring program.

Halpern-Felsher will also provide curriculum training for local educators from 9 a.m. to noon at the Northwest Arkansas Education Service Cooperative in Farmington. Participating educators will be eligible for continuing education hours. Email Dobbs at pdobbs@uark.edu to register for the training.