SCHOLARSHIP
TAMPING DOWN YOUTH VAPING Assistant Professor Sherri Jean Katz is researching how youth perceive the dangers of vaping.
What is one aspect of your major that surprised you? One thing that surprised me is that I get to meet and collaborate with so many different types of creatives. I was amazed at the wide-ranging specialties and skillsets that students within my major have possessed. I have met some talented graphic designers, photographers, reporters, copywriters, digital geeks, podcasters, or even social media influencers. Everyone all brings something different to the table and it’s what makes the program so unique. Dabbling in different areas of expertise is a good practice for the future too if you’re going into a creative field. What do you wish you had known about your career path before now? That it will not be black and white, and it doesn’t have to be. I didn’t know I would pursue a career in advertising when I first came into the U. I didn’t know I would be interested in consumer behaviors. I didn’t know I could be so invested in the digital side of advertising. But here I am, slowly figuring myself out, and it’s perfectly fine.
BY LAUREN BORCHART
SAMIRAA AMIN
optimize your learning experience here. Nothing can come close to the enthusiasm of the HSJMC faculty.
MORE THAN FIVE MILLION YOUTH REPORTED using e-cigarettes in
2019, and nearly one million of those youths reported using e-cigarettes daily, according to the Youth Tobacco Survey conducted by the FDA and CDC. “This was the generation that was supposed to end nicotine addiction,” said Assistant Professor Sherri Jean Katz. Katz researches youth and vaping from a health communication perspective. She focuses on how vaping messages and prevention messages influence how youth perceive vaping risks and how this influences their choices.
READING RISK FACTORS
“There’s been 70 years of data on the health risks associated with cigarettes and quite a bit of research
on how people think about the risks associated with cigarettes. But we don’t have that history of research on e-cigarettes,” said Katz. This lack of information can be challenging, as it is difficult to communicate health risks when they are not fully known at this point. Recognizing a need for more information on risk perceptions of vaping, Katz took on the challenge herself. Katz first began researching tobacco regulatory science while pursuing her Ph.D. and postdoctoral in communication at Cornell University. At the time, vape products were mostly marketed toward adults looking to quit cigarette smoking. Since then, she has witnessed the increase in the use of vaping devices among youth, especially with the rise in popularity of the brand JUUL. HUBBARD SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION
25
