American Lung Association Unveils Comprehensive Plan to Address Youth Vaping Epidemic

As schools in New Hampshire prepare for the new academic year, the American Lung Association has issued a broad plan to combat the growing youth vaping crisis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 33.8% of high school students in New Hampshire used e-cigarettes in 2019. The association's plan includes a national awareness campaign, a Vape-Free Schools Initiative, targeted advocacy, and groundbreaking research.

Key Takeaways:

The American Lung Association's comprehensive plan to address youth vaping includes a national awareness campaign, the Vape-Free Schools Initiative, targeted advocacy, and research to understand the effects of vaping on developing lungs.
The "Get Your Head Out of the Cloud" public awareness campaign with the Ad Council aims to equip parents with facts about e-cigarettes and support conversations with their children.
The Vape-Free Schools Initiative provides guidance to school administrators and educators on addressing youth vaping, including implementing tobacco use policies and offering youth-centered tobacco cessation programs.
Targeted advocacy will focus on advancing proven e-cigarette policies at local, state, and federal levels, with a focus on restoring state funding for tobacco prevention, removing flavored tobacco products from shelves, and addressing loopholes in clean indoor air laws.
The association has invested $2 million in research to understand the effects of vaping on developing lungs and is partnering with Northwestern Medicine on a $25 million NIH-funded grant to study the longitudinal lung health of millennials.

Statistics:

33.8% of high school students in New Hampshire used e-cigarettes in 2019 (CDC's 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey).
The American Lung Association has invested $2 million in research to understand the effects of vaping on developing lungs.
The organization is partnering with Northwestern Medicine on a $25 million NIH-funded grant to study the longitudinal lung health of millennials.

Sources:

"Get Your Head Out of the Cloud" public awareness campaign with the Ad Council (TalkAboutVaping.org).
Vape-Free Schools Initiative (American Lung Association).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The American Lung Association (Lung.org).
Northwestern Medicine (Northwestern Medicine website).