River Valley High School Student Creates an Anti-vape Billboard

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Following a tobacco and anti-vape poster design competition last spring, the final winner was celebrated by the Yuba City Unified School District by mounting the poster on a billboard along Gray Avenue in Yuba City.

Navya Kamboj, a newcomer at River Valley High School, uploaded her anti-vape poster design when she was still enrolled at Yuba City’s Andros Karperos School. All the schools within the district were asked to submit a design, and the outstanding concepts were transformed into public posters. The ultimate winner was entitled to have their artwork featured on a billboard to prevent tobacco use and smoking.

Kamboj’s design contains flowers shaped like a pair of lungs, with the other side flowering and one on fire. She drew inspiration for designing the poster from the serious risks of vaping or smoking on an individual’s well-being.

“I was thinking of how the subject is anti-vaping, and for lungs, one side is burnt out, on fire, and all dead from smoking, and the other side is just lively,” Kamboj stated.

As reported by the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program, whereas cigarette smoking among teenagers has hit an all-time low, the rise of vapes and electronic cigarettes has triggered a fresh wave of tobacco use among youngsters.

Research by the National Institutes of Health indicated that vaping rates among adolescents hit 16% in 2021, almost tripling since 2017.

Kamboj opted to participate in the district-wide poster competition since she enjoys painting. While she doesn’t regard herself as an artist, Kamboj feels her artistic abilities are “greater than the typical person’s.”

Kamboj stated that she did not anticipate finishing first in her school or as the district’s overall champion. She began her effort in April and was informed towards the end of May that her artwork would be shown over Gray Avenue.

“I was amazed that I even earned first place in school, so getting on the billboard is huge,” Kamboj stated.

The poster competition was created to discourage tobacco use among teenagers, with ideas originating directly from their peers. According to project organizers, the project was designed to reach kids using student voices.

Kamboj maintains that programs like this are critical for boosting health and well-being among students who could be unaware of the risks associated with smoking and vaping.

“I believe it is critical to convey this message because I believe that many individuals, particularly teens, do not consider the long-term consequences of their actions” (smoking). They just consider what is happening right now. “They merely want to de-stress, and they don’t consider the long-term consequences,” she explained.

According to officials with the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program, keeping young individuals from smoking electronic cigarettes or menthol cigarettes is a lasting health equity concern since many older smokers start consuming tobacco products during their adolescence.

According to Jennifer Cates, director of student engagement for Yuba City Unified School District, Kamboj’s anti-vaping billboard will remain on Gray Avenue until mid-November. She stated that the district hopes to hold the poster design competition again in the course of the year.

ayla
Author: ayla

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