10 3.22.
These sorts of
P. S. A. s m a d e
more sense
when television
was a primary
source of
entertainment.
In the age of
Yo uT u b e , t h e y
feel futile.Illustration by R. O. Blechmanstories and constructing their vaping ‘‘rigs’’
and ‘‘mods’’ with the pride of tinkering
craftsmen. Many opened shops or start-
ed product lines in the hope of convert-
ing cigarette smokers to vaping — hence
the nerdy sensibility of the entire cottage
industry, which is full of independent
stores with names like Darth Vapor. On
certain levels, these advocates feel like
anyone else fi xated on a particular pursuit,
from craft beers to classic cars. But adult
vapers are often passionate evangelists for
their hobby; they see it, after all, as genu-
inely lifesaving. And online, they are com-
mitted to moving the vaping discussion
away from kids — and away from major
corporate entities like Juul — and back
onto onetime smokers like themselves.
As with most P.S.A.s, Truth’s is easy to
ridicule. It feels clueless, dated, pander-
ing. There are shades of the overblown
approach of ’80s drug-war propaganda,
like the implication that chemicals from
disposable vape cartridges have an eff ect
similar to, say, detonating a bomb. There
is an assumption that kids are still into
heavy metal. In the DashVapes segment,
the vapers compare the P.S.A. to an online
meme — an image of the aggressively
middle-aged actor Steve Buscemi, in an
episode of ‘‘30 Rock,’’ comically trying
to blend in with some teenagers. It’s the
very nature of P.S.A.s to be behind the
curve: Youth vaping rates soared, in part,
because no one with political power took
note of Juul’s sleek, youthful marketing
until it had already succeeded. By the time
advocacy groups began to act, teenagers
were already moving on, replacing their
Juuls with less expensive Puff Bars —
disposable fl avored vapes that fall into a
federal policy loophole.
These sorts of P.S.A.s made more sense
when television was a primary source of
entertainment. They were inescapable —
if you wanted to watch TV, you had to sit
through them and let their messages sink
in through the sheer force of repetition.
In the age of YouTube, though, they feel
futile. The site already contains a substan-
tial ecosystem of vapers, each a click away
— so many that one of them, Matt Culley,
has begun dividing their ranks into gener-
ations, from the no-frills Gen Xers to the
Gen Zers with their quick edits and air
horns. DashVapes already provides hours
and hours of sleek, well-shot, authorita-
tive vaping content. A group like Truth
can no longer command the airwaves; it
Jane Hirshfi eld’s poems often feel like whole landscapes, graciously embracing the widest
view and the tiniest sequins at once. ‘‘Mountainal,’’ from her new book, ‘‘Ledger,’’
off ers up that deep gaze, acknowledgment of all that is present beyond windows or worlds
of humans, then realizes its own desire to be something larger than anecdotal self.
Her longtime practice of Soto Zen Buddhism and her commitments to scientifi c knowledge
and respect blend to create some of the most important poetry in the world today.has to step into an environment where
it is already outnumbered, one where
a video of people rolling their eyes at a
P.S.A. may receive more attention than
the P.S.A. itself.
In early March, DashVapes had 404,
subscribers on YouTube; Truth had
306,000. Nearly every time an anti-vaping
group posts a new ad, DashVapes is there,publishing some sort of mocking take-
down — groaning over its use of ‘‘Crank
Yankers’’-style puppets, or babies, or
testimonials from teenagers. The young
men doing the mocking vape the entire
time. The comments below their videos
usually share their opinions. Truth’s You-
Tube channel, on the other hand, has its
comments disabled.Screenland
Poem Selected by Naomi Shihab NyeMountainal
By Jane Hirshfi eldThis fi rst-light mountain, its east peak and west peak.
Its fi rst-light creeks:
Lagunitas, Redwood, Fern. Their fi shes and mosses.Its night and day hawk-life, slope-life, fogs, coyote, tan oaks,
white-speckled amanita. Its spiderwebs’ sequins.To be personal is easy:
Wake. Slip arms and legs from sleep into name, into story.I wanted to be mountainal, wateral, wrenal.
Naomi Shihab Nye is the Young People’s Poet Laureate of the Poetry Foundation in Chicago, and her latest
book is ‘‘Cast Away,’’ from Greenwillow Books. Jane Hirshfield is from Northern California and is founder
of #PoetsforScience. She is a chancellor emerita of the Academy of American Poets. Her new book, ‘‘Ledger,’’ was
published by Alfred A. Knopf this month.