There was good news but moments into the Jewish New Year.<\/p>\n
Last week, the day after Rosh HaShanah, our government\u2019s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that teenage use of electronic cigarettes had reached an \u201cepidemic proportion.\u201d\u00a0 FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said that more than two million middle and high school students were regular users of e-cigarettes in 2017.\u00a0 This figure is especially alarming because federal law prohibits selling e-cigarettes to anyone under 18 years of age.<\/p>\n
The result:\u00a0 The FDA gave makers and sellers of these devices 60 days\u2019 notice to prove they can keep their devices away from minors.<\/p>\n
In addition, the FDA was sending warning letters to 1,100 retailers, including 7-Eleven stores, Walgreens and Shell gas stations, for selling e-cigarettes to minors.<\/p>\n
Dr. Gottlieb and the FDA are courageous to take on the e-cigarette, vaping and juuling industries which are valued at tens of billions of dollars.\u00a0 Courage aside, it\u2019s necessary.\u00a0 How ironic it is that a teenager may never smoke a cigarette but can become hooked on nicotine through e-cigarettes.\u00a0 And the high levels of nicotine in e-cigarettes is highly addictive.\u00a0 The insidious part, the FDA\u2019s statement underscores, is that the \u201cdeveloping adolescent brain is particularly vulnerable to addiction.\u201d<\/p>\n
One more fact \u2013 One pot of juul equals one packet of cigarettes.<\/p>\n
E-cigarettes, vaping and juuling are present in our Torah world, my dear readers.\u00a0 Promise.\u00a0 It\u2019s in our schools and its rampant among young adults.\u00a0 While some yeshivas and high schools have mandatory drug testing programs, the fact remains that these vices are omnipresent despite the drug testing programs because they will not be detected through a routine urine drug test.\u00a0 Some patients have told me that they indulge in vaping and juuling in school as the Rebbe, teacher or whomever walks past because these vices are so cleverly packaged, the Rebbe, teacher or whomever has no idea that it is transpiring right under his own nose in his own Daled Amos<\/em>.<\/p>\n Oh.\u00a0 One more point why these unfathomable activities are so addicting \u2013 Because they are available in different, pleasant flavors.\u00a0 In other words, each person can find his favorite flavor.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve read this correctly and I will stand by my statements.<\/p>\n While the FDA, under Dr. Gottlieb\u2019s direction, is doing the right thing, I humbly suggest that we must take this even further in our world.\u00a0 Yes, the e-cigarettes, vaping and juuling must be addressed.\u00a0 But the bigger concern is to determine why our children \u2013 teenagers who are adults-in-the-making \u2013 are vulnerable to these poisons.\u00a0 Then we may move to make the appropriate adjustments and corrections.<\/p>\n In recent weeks, established parents in my practice shared with me that their high school junior son, who is a star student in one of our local schools, came to them proactively to discuss the vaping and juuling that he witnesses on a daily basis.\u00a0 The parents were dumbfounded:\u00a0 Vaping and juuling in their son\u2019s yeshiva?\u00a0 Their son was firm that he wasn\u2019t naming the boys who are indulging in these activities.\u00a0 Rather, he wanted to talk about being bored in school and how the pressure of that boredom is tremendous and he can understand why boys slip down the slippery slope into vaping and juuling addiction.<\/p>\n Boredom, especially boredom in school, is a theme I\u2019ve heard a lot about from today\u2019s teenagers. A lot of it is attributable to technology, social media and the instant gratification that prevails in today\u2019s world, rather than hard work.\u00a0 What percentage of this ennui is attributable to forces outside the Jewish world?\u00a0 A significant percentage, I would say.<\/p>\n But that doesn\u2019t absolve us from looking inwards and seeing what\u2019s lacking in our world and addressing it accordingly.\u00a0 There\u2019s lots of work needed in our schools and their curricula.\u00a0 Let\u2019s put it bluntly:\u00a0 What worked in past generations may no longer be the ways of reaching and engaging today\u2019s youth.<\/p>\n The lack of inspiration in today\u2019s world, the frum<\/em> community included, is not a new topic.\u00a0 \u00a0There are not a small number of fellow Jews who live amongst us who feel disenchanted and disenfranchised.\u00a0 \u00a0Let\u2019s call them \u201cReverse Marranos\u201d because while they may look and dress the part of Torah Jews and go through the motions of religious observance, in reality, they are checked out religiously.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because they lack understanding of what they are doing and why they are doing it.\u00a0 This phenomenon is happening at younger and younger ages which is why I believe our high schoolers are vulnerable to the ugliness of vaping and juuling.<\/p>\n So what can be done?<\/p>\n Let\u2019s pull together a \u201cbrain trust\u201d of people from throughout the Orthodox world to a round table discussion on what our yeshivas and schools can be doing differently.\u00a0 It would be fascinating to hear from the Masmidim<\/em>, the professionally educated and the ones who weren\u2019t students and either \u201cflopped\u201d or made something of themselves.\u00a0 Each would have a tale to tell and we would learn from them all.\u00a0 How does being on a \u201cAlef<\/em>,\u201d \u201cBeis<\/em>\u201d or \u201cGimmel<\/em>\u201d track affect one\u2019s sense of self?\u00a0 How has the curriculum prepared one for life?\u00a0 How has the curriculum adjusted to the 21st<\/sup> century?<\/p>\n No doubt, Hebrew Kriah<\/em> and English reading skills are basic to setting a person on a path to success in school and life.\u00a0 As our classes get larger and our teachers are not always the best prepared professionally, are our children slipping between the cracks?\u00a0 These skills are the proverbial foundation necessary upon which to construct a strong edifice.<\/p>\n Emuna<\/em> and Bitachon<\/em> should no longer be taken for granted in our homes and schools and should be taught in creative ways.\u00a0 The root of the word Emuna<\/em> is from \u201cOmen<\/em>,\u201d a craftsman.\u00a0 A craftsman does not just sit down and knock out a piece of his craft.\u00a0 He works and works at it, perhaps seeking professional guidance and even remolding it until he creates a work of art.\u00a0 Emuna <\/em>and Bitachon <\/em>are lifelong endeavors.\u00a0 We can help stack the decks in favor of our children pursuing this if we were to make it more relevant and real for them.<\/p>\n For example, there are primary sources available of the religious questions posed to Rabbi Ephraim Oshry (1914-2003) who was a rabbi in the Kovno ghetto.\u00a0 Miraculously, he survived the Shoah<\/em>.\u00a0 His writings detail not only the Nazi\/Lithuanian collaboration for our destruction, but also how, despite the shadow of death as a constant presence, Jews sought to keep HaShem<\/em>\u2019s Torah and commandments as evidenced by the religious questions posed to Rav Oshry and how he answered them.<\/p>\n Perhaps our schools and other educational programs should learn some of these primary sources.\u00a0 Our middle school and high school age children and adults would experience the deep longing of their ancestors to connect with the Infinite and to know that being a Jew is the greatest thing in the world.<\/p>\n Over the recent Yom Tov<\/em>, I read through Yeshiva University\u2019s Rosh Hashanah To-Go 5779<\/u>. \u00a0The theme was Tefillah<\/em>.\u00a0 Among the excellent articles was an exceptional one by Rabbi Joshua Kahn, Head of School at Yeshiva University High School for Boys (also known as MTA), entitled \u201cTeenagers and Tefillah<\/em>:\u00a0 An Approach to Tefillah<\/em> Education in High School.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Rabbi Kahn details a program that his school instituted last year for sophomore students on Tefillah<\/em>, focused on enhancing their awareness of HaShem<\/em> through monthly programs, goal setting and meeting one-on-one with their Rebbeim<\/em>.\u00a0 Each month, the specific application would shift, ranging from Brachos<\/em> before eating to other areas of Bracha<\/em>, such as Ashar Yatzar<\/em>, to seeing HaShem<\/em>\u2019s hand in this world.\u00a0 The common theme was to perceive and appreciate HaShem<\/em>\u2019s involvement in the world in general.<\/p>\n Rabbi Kahn\u2019s article is a worthwhile read<\/strong><\/a> and is\u2026inspiring.\u00a0 A yeshiva high school has developed a program for an age cohort at a particularly important time in their mental and emotional development.\u00a0 It\u2019s impressive.\u00a0 I would venture to guess that the Rebbeim<\/em> need training in this area as well.\u00a0 After all, they can only help their students with Tefilla<\/em> and their relationship with HaShem<\/em> to the extent that they themselves are developed in Tefilla<\/em> and their own relationship with HaShem<\/em>.<\/p>\n I\u2019d love to see the curriculum in action.\u00a0 Who wants to join me on a trip to Washington Heights?<\/p>\n These are some of my suggestions and would welcome to hear yours.\u00a0 I challenge some of our organizations like Torah Umesorah, the Orthodox Union or the Aguda to take on this challenge and begin turning the tide.<\/p>\n It is preferable that we step up to the plate and work collectively to stop these self-harming behaviors rather than have to gather graveside for yet another unnecessary loss of a young life.<\/p>\n As always, daven<\/em>.<\/p>\n Dr. Hylton I. Lightman<\/a>\u00a0is a senior statesman among pediatricians, an internationally-recognized authority and diagnostician, a public speaker, expert witness and go-to resource for health issues in the Orthodox Jewish community and beyond. Originally from South Africa, he started his current practice, Total Family Care of the Five Towns and Far Rockaway, PC in 1987. Dr. Lightman is a board-certified pediatrician and fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics (FAAP). Dr. Lightman is a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine. In addition, he is actively involved in teaching pediatric and family nurse practitioners through Columbia University, Pace University, Lehmann College, and Molloy College, as well as mentoring physician assistants through Touro College. Read more\u00a0here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There was good news but moments into the Jewish New Year. Last week, the day after Rosh HaShanah, our government\u2019s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that teenage use of electronic cigarettes had reached an \u201cepidemic proportion.\u201d\u00a0 FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said that more than two million middle and high school students were regular<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133543,"featured_media":60645,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-parenting"],"yoast_head":"\n
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