"Destroys your life": At just 13, a social media star fights cigarettes
The Israel Cancer Association has recruited Avigail Wiseman for a special awareness campaign against the rise of smoking and vaping among teenagers, which is now reaching younger ages than ever before.
The phenomenon of smoking and using electronic cigarettes (vapes) among children and teenagers in Israel is spreading to younger ages than ever before. To address this issue on a peer-to-peer level, the Israel Cancer Association has chosen Avigail Wiseman to lead a new awareness campaign.
Wiseman (13) from Ashdod, a singer and leading social media personality with millions of followers and hundreds of millions of views, serves as a positive role model with the goal of keeping teenagers away from tobacco and nicotine products. In parallel, the Association operates a training program in schools across the country in cooperation with the Ministry of Education.
The campaign, launched through the Ziblin advertising agency and Wiseman Productions, is accompanied by a music video starring Wiseman under the slogan "Smoking destroys your life." The clip showcases all smoking products, from tobacco cigarettes and hookahs to electronic cigarettes. The use of vapes exposes young people to "e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury" (EVALI) — a severe condition that has caused respiratory failure and serious illness worldwide. Preliminary studies also link it to damage to the liver, kidneys, and fertility, as well as an increased risk of cancer.
Moshe Bar-Haim, CEO of the Israel Cancer Association, stated:
"Given the drop in the age of experimentation and the risk of addiction, the choice of a familiar figure relies on Avigail's ability to serve as a role model. The clip led by her will improve the internalization of the messages and help in forming negative attitudes towards tobacco products."
The social media campaign is intended to increase awareness among children and parents regarding the dangers of nicotine.
Association experts emphasize that the brain continues to develop until the age of 25; therefore, exposure to nicotine during adolescence causes faster addiction, impairment in learning and memory, attention disorders, and mood swings.
