Youth

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have published results from the 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) assessing current trends among youth who use e-cigarettes across the country.

GHEA and CADCA’s Evaluation and Research Team presented August's installment of Research Into Action webinar series featuring Dr. Samantha Puvanesarajah and Michael Tynan, MPH, from CDC's Office on Smoking and Health, who discussed findings from their latest study on youth indoor and outdoor exposure to secondhand smoke and aerosol.

The Truth Initiative Tobacco/Vape-Free College Program is offering grants of up to $20,000 to colleges and universities to support the adoption and implementation of a 100% tobacco/vape-free policy. Grantees receive programming for student activism and evidence-based cessation for students and employees. The deadline to apply is October 12, 2022.

CADCA’s 21st Annual Mid-Year Training Institute is back in-person! It will be held in Orlando, FL from July 17-21, and will offer a large variety of sophisticated training sessions and workshops related to substance use and misuse prevention and more. GHEA has worked closely with experts in the field to curate workshops that are relevant for tobacco-prevention and control professionals.

In an early celebration of World No Tobacco Day 2022, CADCA’s Geographic Health Equity Alliance (GHEA) partnered with the Truth Initiative to present “Getting to Know Truth: Resources for Inspiring Lives Free from Smoking, Vaping and Nicotine” on May 25th, 2022. This webinar introduced participants to free resources that are available via the Truth Initiative. These resources included the truth® campaign and its evaluation; Vaping: Know the Truth (a vaping prevention program); This is Quitting (a text message based vaping cessation program for youth and young adults); and community, and youth engagement programs.

A panel of experts from CDC's National Networks present “Community Lead Efforts: Current Trends of E-Cig/ Vaping & Youth Elevating the Movement Towards Health Equity for All.” This webinar discusses how to approach tobacco and e-cigarette use through youth engagement and strategies that affect special populations across the nation through a lens of racial, ethnic, geographic and social health equity.

GHEA and the Public Health Law Center recently presented “E-Cigarette Collection and Disposal in Schools: ABCs and FAQs.” This webinar discussed the hazardous waste status of e-cigarettes, highlighted current local and state efforts, and shared best practices that schools (and other public entities) can adopt to handle and regulate these products.

Youth e-cigarette use remains a serious public health concern amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers from the CDC and FDA analyzed national data and found that more than 2 million U.S. middle and high school students currently use e-cigarettes in 2021, and almost 85% of those youth use flavored e-cigarettes.

Dr. Jordan Alpert presents “E-Cigarette Instagram Posts and Their Youth Appeal,” a webinar recording and accompanying article on the characteristics of popular social media posts related to electronic cigarettes on Instagram. Dr. Alpert shares the implications his research findings have for public health programs addressing media literacy skills to educate young adults about electronic cigarette content viewed on social media.

CADCA’s 20th Annual Mid-Year Training Institute will be held virtually from July 9-15, 2021 and will offer 100+ sophisticated training sessions and workshops related to substance use and misuse prevention and more. GHEA has worked closely with experts in the field to curate workshops that are relevant for tobacco-prevention and control professionals.

Earlier this year, the American Lung Association released its 19th annual "State of Tobacco Control" report. This report evaluates federal and state government’s tobacco control laws and policies and serves as a roadmap for what they can do to eliminate the death and disease caused by tobacco use.

For years, coalitions have searched for the most effective ways to engage young people in prevention. No effort has seen greater and more lasting success in creating authentic and meaningful roles for youth than tobacco control. Guided by established best practices from the CDC, tobacco control groups have engaged and utilized young people at every level of prevention campaigns. This presentation by Nigel Wrangham, CADC II, CPS, Master Trainer for CADCA, shares evidence-based strategies to meaningfully engage and involve youth in population-level change.