Article by: Hadley Farrell
Rylie Gillen, a junior at Easton Valley, will be presenting in front of Governor Kim Reynolds at the Iowa capitol in Des Moines on Thursday the 27th of February. Rylie will be presenting a speech on the topic of anti-vaping. Rylie’s speech will shine a light on the fact that teenagers are becoming the target audience for vaping companies.
Last year Rylie was introduced to ASAC, which stands for Area Substance Abuse Counseling. ASAC is an organization that offers programs to reduce substance use. Mrs. Keller presented Rylie with the opportunity to speak in front of Governor Reynolds and raise awareness about anti-vaping among teenagers.
In Rylie’s speech, she highlights how vaping is a 20-billion-dollar industry that targets the youth and masks vaping as a “better” alternative. Vaping is marketed as a way to quit but actually becomes an addiction. Vaping companies are making teenagers the main target with cool designs and candy-like flavors. Rylie strongly believes it is wrong to make the youth the target.
Rylie’s goal is to bring awareness of teenagers being the target for these companies. She wants to encourage youth not to vape and help them see the negative effects vaping brings.