Famous Minnesota TikTok Doctor to Help Kids Quit e-Cigarettes

According to the Minnesota Department of Health (MnDOH!?), they've partnered with Dr. Leslie (Rose Marie Leslie, MD), a hugely popular Minnesota family medicine physician on TikTok, "to help combat a growing trend of e-cigarette dependence among teens who vape."

Data from the 2020 Minnesota Youth Tobacco Survey (MYTS) revealed 70.4% of Minnesota teens who used an e-cigarette in the past 30 days reported signs of e-cigarette dependence.

No e-cig videos from the partnership are online yet, but if you follow Dr. Lelsie, you'll see 'em. 

Looking at one specific sign of dependence, frequent use of e-cigarettes, both national and Minnesota data show that about a third of teens who use e-cigarettes are using them frequently – at least 20 days of the past 30.

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That's 33.6% of teens in Minnesota who use e-cigarettes are using them frequently. In Minnesota, this is a significant increase, nearly doubling from the last survey in 2017.

MDH Senior Research Scientist Sharrilyn Helgertz says,

"Teens are more susceptible to nicotine addiction due to their developing brains, and nicotine use during adolescence can have permanent impacts on learning, memory, attention and mood. Given the long-lasting impacts, it is concerning to see an increase in Minnesota teens reporting signs of nicotine dependence.”

In response, MDH is engaging teens where they are...online.

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