Vaping prevention and quit resources: top tips for parents and educators

Parents and educators have an important role to play in reaching young people with the information they need to make informed choices. By understanding how young people start using tobacco products - and how nicotine addiction impacts the young brain - parents and educators can prepare to have productive conversations with their students and children. As new nicotine products continue to appear on the market, it is also increasingly important that parents and educators familiarize themselves with emerging products that are gaining popularity - such as pouches and lozenges as well as synthetic nicotine products.

By staying informed, parents and educators can act as a valuable resource for the young people in their lives. Here is some preliminary information for parents, educators, and others working with young people. Additional resources are listed below. 

What are the most common nicotine products that young people use today?

E-cigarettes are currently the most commonly used tobacco product among middle and high school students. Although youth vaping prevalence has gone down in recent years, young people who do use these products are showing signs of addiction: According to the 2024 National Youth Tobacco Survey, among students who currently used e-cigarettes, 38.4% reported frequent use (at least 20 out of 30 days) and 26.3% reported daily use. 

A new class of nicotine product - oral nicotine pouches from brands like Zyn - are also on the rise, and are now the second most commonly used nicotine product among middle and high school students, following e-cigarettes. The small white pouches are sometimes referred to as a "lip pillow" or "upper decky" because of where they are placed between the lip and gum, often under the upper lip.

How do young people access nicotine products?

In recent years, e-cigarettes have become bigger, stronger, and cheaper - with many young people buying them from retail stores, through friends, or on social media. TikTok accounts promoting “discreet shipping” services, concealing e-cigarettes in cosmetics, candy, and beauty products, attempt to circumvent age restrictions on e-cigarette sales as well as parental oversight. In addition, Truth Initiative research has found that most (76.3%) online vape shops allow customers to reach the checkout page without proper confirmation that they are above 21 – the age required to purchase tobacco. 

Free resources are available for educators

Free resources are available for educators to help prevent youth e-cigarette use and help those already vaping quit. To educate young people about the dangers of vaping, we provide Vaping: Know the truth, a free digital curriculum that guides middle and high school students through real-world scenarios surrounding vaping nicotine, short- and long-term cannabis vaping, and the co-use of nicotine and cannabis. 

This self-led interactive curriculum also offers quitting resources to help young people who are currently vaping through our 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.

Resources on nicotine use in schools:

• Discipline is not the answer: Better approaches to on-campus student tobacco use
• What educators can do if they catch students vaping in schools
• Educators share how a free vaping prevention curriculum has helped their students

Resources on nicotine addiction and the young brain:

• Many young people turn to nicotine to deal with stress, anxiety and depression, but don’t know it may be making them feel worse
• Fact Sheet: Nicotine and the young brain
• Colliding Crises: Youth mental health and nicotine youth

Emerging tobacco products:

• Vaping Lingo Dictionary: A guide to popular terms and devices
• What is Zyn and what are oral nicotine pouches?
• What you need to know about new synthetic nicotine products
• Elf Bar, Hyde, and Breeze – what you need to know about the rise in disposable e-cigarettes