Educators share how a free vaping prevention curriculum has helped their students

Despite a recent decline in current youth e-cigarette use from 2.13 million young people in 2023 to 1.63 million in 2024, vaping in the classroom remains a major distraction for many educators and students. According to a report from Truth Initiative that gauged educator experiences with nicotine in schools across the country, vaping in the classroom is a "daily issue" that disrupts learning and poses risks to academic performance. 

To help schools address this pressing issue, Truth Initiative offers the national youth vaping prevention curriculum Vaping: Know the truth, which has reached 1.5 million students with the facts about nicotine addiction and resources to quit. The free, digital curriculum offers a modern approach to guide teachers and students through the dangers associated with e-cigarette use, giving students the facts they need to make informed decisions about nicotine use. The entire curriculum can be accessed online at no cost through the leading social impact education innovator, EVERFI.

Here is what some educators who have shared the self-led course with their students have to say about their experiences.

“It’s very interesting to see what they’re learning and how they’re taking that information and using it in the right direction, making better decisions surrounding vapes and the use of the vapes.” -Terri Smith, Coordinated School Health Facilitator at Lincoln County Schools, Tennessee

“One student, right after she finished [the modules], who told us, ‘I didn’t realize how dangerous and what chemicals were in there, I’m not gonna touch one of those again.’” – Scott Dowling, Dean at Kearney Middle School, Colorado

Experts and educators agree that students are not aware of the harmful consequences of vaping nicotine, including its effects on young brains. Nicotine can harm the developing adolescent brain and make young people more susceptible to addiction later in life, and nicotine addiction can increase stress and intensify symptoms of depression and anxiety. 

The 40-45 minute self-administered interactive course Vaping: Know the truth takes students through four self-paced lessons. Together, these lessons inform students about the harmful ingredients inside e-cigarettes, highlight how the tobacco industry has intentionally targeted young people through various marketing and advertising strategies, and discusses the addictiveness of nicotine and the health risks of vaping nicotine.

“The knowledge that they’re lacking about what they’re doing when they’re vaping, it’s just astonishing what we’re seeing with our students.” – Terri Smith

The curriculum also offers quitting resources to help young people who are currently vaping through Truth Initiative's free and anonymous text messaging program, now part of EX Program. An evaluation of the program found that enrolled teens were 35% more likely to report not using nicotine after seven months.  

“The curriculum has provided a positive impact on our students, it’s empowering them, it’s giving them the truth, it’s giving them the information.” – Sabrina Taylor, Career Technical Education Investigations Teacher at Arlington Independent School District, Texas

“[The curriculum] is giving the students the empowerment to know what’s in the vapes and they’re not wanting to do it again.” – Scott Dowling

Amy Taylor, Chief Development and Partnerships Officer at Truth Initiative, shares educators’ excitement about the success of the curriculum.

“We know that when young people feel empowered, that they’re going to make informed decisions. When they have the facts, they’re going to avoid vaping.” – Amy Taylor

To learn more about Vaping: Know the truth and how you can use the curriculum at no cost in your school or community, visit truthinitiative.org/curriculum.