Abstract

Youth-led anti-vaping initiative to educate peers on the dangers of e-cigarettes

Judy Donlen, RN, DNSc, JD1, Merle Weitz, MSW1, Cathy Butler-Witt, MA, BSW, CTTS2 and Cristina Martins, CHES1
(1)Southern New Jersey Perinatal Cooperative, Pennsauken, NJ, (2)Southern New Jersey Perinatal Cooperative/ Family Health Initiatives, Pennsauken, NJ

APHA's 2018 Annual Meeting & Expo (Nov. 10 - Nov. 14)

As traditional youth tobacco use continues to decline, a new generation of nicotine addiction emerges. Since 2014, e-cigarettes remain the most commonly used tobacco product amongst New Jersey youth. As part of the NJ Department of Health’s Tobacco free for a Health NJ Initiative, the Southern NJ Perinatal Cooperative received funding to engage youth in a public awareness campaign about the dangers e-cigarette use. Three southern NJ high schools applied and were awarded mini-grants grants to create and evaluate a peer-to-peer education project to be implemented in their school and through social media. These geographically and demographically diverse groups developed unique strategies to educate their peers about e-cigarette usage, including peer education classes, creating a tobacco control advocacy toolkit and producing an anti-vaping video. After receiving the award, participants were required to attend a comprehensive training about e-cigarettes and vaping devices. Upon completion, students were given four months to develop and implement their education curriculum, create evaluation materials, develop a social media strategy and evaluate their program. Pre-test data indicated that students were unaware of state laws regarding e-cigarettes; 49% of students were unaware that e-cigarette use is prohibited in public places, and 63% were unaware of the state purchasing laws. Student knowledge is expected to increase by the end of the mini-grant period. Students are actively pursuing channels for policy change related to banning the use of e-cigarettes in outdoor parks, enforcing regulations in local vape shops, and limiting the number of vape shops within their communities and in proximity to their schools. Evaluation results from these pilots will be incorporated into future youth-led anti vaping efforts across the state.

Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs