The aim of the ‘Mójate y cuídate’ campaign, now in its second consecutive year, is to teach young people the importance of sun protection and avoiding the use of vapes. On Friday 3rd, a group of forty young people from Mijas took part in this programme, which aims to raise social awareness.

The first session of the programme was attended by the mayoress, Ana Mata (PP), accompanied by the councillor for Youth, Melisa Ceballos (PP). The mayoress emphasised that this is “an educational workshop, directly focused on the necessary preventions when exposed to the sun and the essential use of sunscreen to avoid the harmful damage the sun causes. And now a new trend is taking over: vaping. Well, vapes also have harmful effects on health. What we cannot do is make it easy for our young people to use these types of devices”.

Games to raise awareness

During this first day, participants took part in a series of group dynamics aimed at helping them avoid excessive sun exposure and the use of these electronic devices. “We have nearly 40 young people taking part, including young mothers, in a very dynamic activity designed to raise awareness of the importance of sun protection and to avoid the use of vapes, as they are causing increasing harm to our children and, above all, to ever younger children who are using them. So, at the very least, they should know the side effects”, explained Ceballos.

To carry out this initiative, they are working in partnership with the water park, the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC) and the pharmacist and influencer Aixa Galán, who said that “the best sunscreen is the one we put on every day, because it doesn’t matter which one we use, just put it on”.

For her part, Elena Ybarra, a Health Prevention and Promotion specialist at the AECC, said that “we need to be very aware that the sun is out there, even on cloudy days, and that its rays reach our skin if we are not responsible”.

 

Through games, Ybarra explained to the young people that everything they believe about vapes is not true: “For example, myths such as that vapes contain no nicotine or that the amount of nicotine they have is low, when we know that the amount of nicotine present in vapes is very high. Furthermore, it is causing great dependence, particularly among the young population, which is the group we have come to try to influence today, but in a positive way, encouraging non-consumption and non-addiction to these products, which we know cause many diseases, including cancer”.

The president of the AECC in Mijas, Mari Carmen Gómez, emphasised that “the aim is for young people to become aware and give up vaping and, above all, to use protection, because prevention is the cure for cancer”.

Next session

The campaign is aimed at young people aged 14 and over. To take part, participants must be registered residents in Mijas and complete all the activities proposed. The next session will be on the 17th of July, the registration period is now open and closes on the 13th of July at 12:00.

To apply, participants must scan the official QR code available on the campaign posters or via the web link shared on Juventud Mijas’ social media channels.

 

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