Community
The prevalence of tobacco use varies significantly among different populations in Utah. Characteristics such as race, ethnicity, geographic location, income, education level, gender identity, and sexual orientation correlate with persistent tobacco use and associated health issues. Among racial and ethnic groups, cigarette smoking is highest among people who are Indigenous and Black. Smoking rates among members of Utah’s LGBTQIA2S+ Community, among people enrolled in Medicaid, rank significantly higher than the state average of 9.5% (BRFSS 2014).
With Utah’s low smoking rates, identifying populations at increased risk and reducing tobacco-related disparities are critical. Commercial tobacco companies have targeted much of their promotional efforts on historically marginalized populations, driving up tobacco-use rates in these communities. The Tobacco Prevention and Control Program partners with local organizations to decrease tobacco use in these communities. These organizations provide expertise for the populations they serve and are essential for tobacco prevention and cessation efforts within these communities.
Utah School Resource Guide
Schools greatly influence the students they serve and play a major role in reducing the rate of tobacco use among youth. Research suggests that when consistently enforced, tobacco-free school policies are essential to lowering teen tobacco use rates.
A comprehensive policy goes beyond simple compliance by supporting safe schools, promoting clean air, and creating an environment where students are encouraged to make healthy choices.
Effective school policies attempt to address the underlying addiction to commercial tobacco instead of purely punitive measures, which do not deter continued use and may exacerbate the problem. Using punitive measures such as suspension and expulsion to penalize student violations of a school’s commercial tobacco policy is not reasonable, considering the targeted marketing, science of addiction, and long-term consequences associated with expulsion and suspension. For information on programs that may be implemented in schools, please see below or contact your local health department.
This guide is designed to help Utah schools and districts through the process of incorporating recommendations from the CDC’s “Guidelines for School Health Programs to Prevent Tobacco Use and Addiction.”
Prevention and classroom resources
Addiction Policy Forum
Vaping: Know the Facts aims to correct misinformation; explain the health risks of adolescent vaping; and empower schools, parents and students to take action. For more information, visit addictionpolicy.org.
ASPIRE
ASPIRE is a free program that can be used for prevention in the classroom or as a stand-alone resource for policy violations. See Policy Violation Resources below for more information.
Botvin Lifeskills Training
Botvin LifeSkills® Training (LST) is a research-validated prevention program. It teaches students the necessary skills to resist social pressures to smoke, drink and use drugs; and enhances cognitive/behavioral competency to reduce/prevent a variety of health-risk behaviors. There is a supplemental document to show how to incorporate vaping into several lessons. For more information, visit lifeskillstraining.com.
Catch My Breath
This free program offers in-class activities, teacher education, online resources, and take-home materials for parents about e-cigarettes, nicotine and addiction dangers. The program is based on state-of-the-art tobacco awareness and prevention best practices and is being evaluated for outcome evidence. The curriculum consists of four lessons of 30-40 minutes each.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health (OSH) developed this presentation to educate youth on e-cigarettes, including the health risks, the factors that lead to e-cigarette use, and what youth can do to avoid all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes.
How to handle and dispose of e-cigarette waste
Resource Library
The Tobacco Education Resource Library from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) provides a robust collection of science-based, standards-mapped classroom resources. These resources were created to prevent vaping among middle and high school students. For more information visit digitalmedia.hhs.gov/tobacco/.
Tobacco Prevention Toolkit
The Tobacco Prevention Tool Kit is a new, theory-based and evidence-informed educational resource that can be adapted to fit the individual needs of educators and students in all types of settings, including elementary, middle and high schools; community-based organizations; and health-related agencies. This tool kit contains a set of modules focused on e-cigarettes and vapes, messages on nicotine addiction, information and resources concerning positive youth development.
Policy violation resources
ASPIRE: MD Anderson Cancer Center
ASPIRE is a free, bilingual, online tobacco prevention curriculum for teens. It was developed by the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The interactive tool explains the dangers of tobacco and nicotine use. ASPIRE is not a cessation tool for students currently using tobacco. For information on resources for students currently using tobacco products, please refer to the cessation resources below or contact your local health department.
All Utah schools and peer courts can access ASPIRE under a memorandum of understanding with MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Utah Department of Health and Human Services Tobacco Prevention and Control Program. Contact your local health department for more information or, to enroll your school, contact Julie Christie at jchristie@utah.gov or 801-538-6883
Healthy Futures: Stanford Medicine
Healthy Futures provides a one-on-one group intervention in a one- and/or two-hour plan. While one-on-one intervention is preferable, not all schools have the means to initiate this approach, so you may consider the group intervention. Learn more at https://med.stanford.edu/tobaccopreventiontoolkit.
INDEPTH: American Lung Association
Intervention for Nicotine Dependence: Education, Prevention, Tobacco and Health (INDEPTH) is an alternative to suspension or citation that helps schools and communities address the teen vaping problem in a more supportive way. Instead of solely focusing on punitive measures, INDEPTH is an interactive program that teaches students about nicotine dependence, establishing healthy alternatives, and how to kick the unhealthy addiction that got them into trouble in the first place.
Cessation resources
My Life, My Quit
The My Life, My Quit program is for young people ages 12 to 17 who want help quitting all forms of tobacco, including vaping. It’s free. There are online tools, text messaging and/or phone support. Parental consent is required for enrollment in the program.
My Life, My Quit helps youth:
- Develop a quit plan.
- Cope with stress.
- Learn about nicotine.
- Get ongoing support.
Text or call 855-891-9989.
Smoke-free Teen
Smoke-free Teen helps youth stop using tobacco by providing information grounded in scientific evidence and offering free tools on their mobile phones. The text-messaging program can help youth quit smoking, and the quitSTART app helps them become smoke-free by providing helpful strategies for tackling cravings, bad moods and other situations.
Additional resources
Youth Advocacy Coalition
The Youth Advocacy Coalition is a collective of youth groups across Utah to create healthy communities. The mission for tobacco prevention youth groups is to empower youth and adult partners to create youth-friendly, tobacco-free communities through advocacy, education and environmental changes. For more information on how to become a part of the Youth Advocacy Coalition, contact Julie Christie.
801-538-6883
Dental Vaping Screening Toolkit
The Dental Vaping Screening Toolkit is an evidence-based guide developed to help dental professionals screen for vaping screening use among Utah youth. It assists dental professionals to recognize signs of vaping use. The tool kit also equips clinicians with the ability to educate youth on the dangers of vaping as well as to connect youth to tobacco cessation services.
Community
Contact us
Partner health departments
Community
Bear River Health Department
Main line: 435-792-6509
Website: https://brhd.org/
Social Media: Facebook, Twitter
Central Utah Health Department
Main line: 435-896-5451
Website: https://centralutahpublichealth.org/
Social Media: Facebook, Twitter
Davis County Health Department
Main line: 801-525-5070
Website: https://www.daviscountyutah.gov/health
Social Media: Facebook, Twitter
Salt Lake County Health Department
Main line: 385-468-5348
Website: https://slco.org/health/
Social Media: Facebook, Instagram
San Juan County Health Department
Main line: 435-587-3838
Website: https://sanjuanpublichealth.org/
Social Media: Facebook, Email
Southeast Utah Health Department
Main line: 435-637-3671
Website: https://www.seuhealth.com/
Social Media: Facebook
Community
Southwest Utah Public Health Department
Main line: 435-986-2593
Website: https://swuhealth.org/
Social Media: Facebook,Twitter
Summit County Health Department
Main line: 435-333-1500
Website: https://summitcountyhealth.org/
Social Media: Facebook, Twitter
Tooele County Health Department
Main line: 435-277-2374
Website: https://tooelehealth.org/
Social Media: Facebook, Twitter
TriCounty Health Department
Main line: 435-247-1177
Website: https://tricountyhealth.com/
Social Media: Facebook, Twitter
Utah County Health Department
Main line: 801-851-7099
Website: https://health.utahcounty.gov/
Social Media: Facebook, Twitter
Wasatch County Health Department
Main line: 435-657-3260
Website: https://www.wasatchcountyhd.org/
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Weber-Morgan Health Department
Main line: 801-399-7195
Website: http://www.webermorganhealth.org/
Social Media: Facebook, Twitter