E-cigarettes & Vaping: What Schools Should Know

What should schools do to protect their students from these products?

• Institute and enforce comprehensive tobacco-free campus policies, including all e-cigarettes. Punitive policies aren’t effective. Many of our youth are already addicted to nicotine through these tobacco products and therefore efforts are needed to help kids quit. Schools should offer programs on-site to help students quit or connect them with resources to support them in breaking free from their addiction.
• Ensure all teachers, administrators and staff know the different kinds of e-cigarettes on the market and the dangers they pose to young people.
• Participate in the "Real Cost Campaign." FDA's tobacco prevention campaign which now features ads to educate teens on the dangers of e-cigarettes. Schools can take advantage of free print materials and web content from the campaign.

What resources does American Lung Association offer to address this issue?

• The Vape Talk is a resource for parents to learn more about how to talk to teens about vaping and download a conversation guide.
• Not On Tobacco (N-O-T) is the American Lung Association’s teen smoking cessation program and helps teens who want to quit, and provides the tools, information and support to quit for good.
• Intervention for Nicotine Dependence: Education, Prevention, Tobacco and Health (INDEPTH) is an "out-of-the-box" alternative to suspension or citation that seeks to address the teen vaping problem in a more supportive way. Instead of exclusionary discipline, students participate in a series of interactive educational sessions focused on nicotine addiction, establishing healthy alternatives and making the change to be free of all nicotine and tobacco products. The program is administered by an adult facilitator in either a one-on-one or group format and can be offered in a school or community-based setting. Visit Lung.org/INDEPTH, call 1-800-LUNGUSA (1-800-586-4872) or email [email protected] to learn more.

Contact

Lung HelpLine and Tobacco Quitline is a telephone support line available in over 200 languages and is a free service allowing callers access to expert staff, including registered nurses, respiratory therapists, pharmacists and certified tobacco cessation specialists.

Contact your local American Lung Association office for information on youth leadership groups and other youth tobacco initiatives at 1-800-LUNGUSA.

• References

1. Wang TW, Gentzke A, Sharapova S, Cullen KA, Ambrose BK, Jamal A. Tobacco Product Use Among Middle and High School Students — United States, 2011–2017. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2018;67:629–633. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6722a3
2. Tsai J, Walton K, Coleman BN, et al. Reasons for Electronic Cigarette Use Among Middle and High School Students — National Youth Tobacco Survey, United States, 2016. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2018;67:196–200. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6706a5

Page last updated: June 7, 2024