CVS investing $50M over 5 years to curb teen e-cigarette use

Pharmacy chain CVS is investing up to $50 million over five years to fight e-cigarette use among teenagers.

News 12 Staff

Jun 18, 2019, 2:23 AM

Updated 1,935 days ago

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Pharmacy chain CVS is investing up to $50 million over five years to fight e-cigarette use among teenagers.
According the latest National Youth Tobacco Survey, there was a 1.3 million increase in teen tobacco users from 2017 to 2018, all of which was linked to the teen use of e-cigarettes.
CVS says it's aiming to reverse the trend by donating money to focus on youth smoking and e-cigarette prevention. The funds will help create classroom-based programs and help clinics get the resources they need to address e-cigarette use and cover training on it.
In a statement, CVS Health's top chief medical officer said: "The spread of e-cigarette use among youth jeopardizes the progress made in reducing smoking over the last two decades. By collaborating with experts and aggressively investing in innovative strategies, we believe that we can help reverse this disturbing trend."
Matt Flax, owner of Vaporville in Hicksville, says CVS' investment is a great idea, even if it means a decrease in the number of e-cigarette users and possibly fewer customers.
News 12 spoke with some Long Islanders who say they hope the investment will succeed.