Topeka, Kan. — Kauffman Museum’s traveling exhibit, Vapes: Marketing an Addiction, made a stop during its 2022 statewide tour at the Take Down Tobacco Day event on March 3 at the Kansas Capitol building.
Take Down Tobacco Day is an annual event held by the Tobacco Free Kansas Coalition (TFKC) and American Cancer Society (ACS) that brings middle school and high school students, representing 13 Resist Chapters across Kansas, together to learn about tobacco prevention and their role in local and state advocacy. Resist is a youth-led, statewide movement created to fight against the tobacco industry’s influence on teens.
During the event, teens had the opportunity to visit the Vapes exhibit that dives into the promotion of tobacco products from the year 1880 to present. Kauffman Museum at Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas, worked with their local hospital and local youth substance misuse leadership program called STAND to develop this impressive historical exhibit.
Vapes tells three intertwining stories: the rise and fall of cigarette smoking and advertising; the emergence of e-cigarettes in the 21st century along with current marketing strategies and the challenges of nicotine addiction and quitting. Displayed in three compact, free-standing modules. Vapes showcases examples of vaping products, photomurals, videos and an LED infographic to educate visitors about e-cigarettes and advertising by the tobacco industry.
“We were really grateful to host this exhibit in tandem with our Take Down Tobacco Day event,” said Jordan Roberts, Youth Prevention Program Manager and Resist Coordinator at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. “We hope that the exhibit created a welcoming space for our event participants and others to learn more about the tobacco industry’s marketing and advertising efforts and allowed them space to reflect on their own stories and experiences.”
The exhibit is designed to travel to schools, hospitals, libraries and museums in Kansas and will be continuing its statewide tour this spring at the following locations.

• March 4-28, 2022 at the Lawrence College and Career Center
• March 29-31, 2022 at the 2022 Governor’s Public Health Conference at the Manhattan Conference Center

For more information or to request the exhibit, visit vapes-exhibit.com or contact Kauffman Museum at kauffman@bethelks.edu or 316-283-1612.