Addressing Vaping in Youth and Young Adults

Vaping dependence has grown in popularity within the last decade, becoming an epidemic among youth and young adults. The surge of vaping can lead to nicotine addiction, long-term health problems, adverse behavioral effects, and social consequences. A systematic and thorough review of the evidence addressed the need for change in vaping in youth and young adults. Interventions utilized in approaching this population focused on text message delivery systems and social media approaches which are likely to reach a large population of youth and young adults, leading to increased success rates in vaping cessation and population awareness, in turn, promoting the overall health and well-being of individuals and the population health. A vaping education pilot program was launched at a local charter school for all fifth-grade classrooms. Fifth-grade students were recruited by receiving information flyers, parental consent, and child assent forms. Participating students (n=3) were enrolled in a vaping education program consisting of a one-hour in-person PowerPoint presentation followed by 5-week virtual education via Google Classroom. Pre- and post-knowledge surveys were used to assess vaping knowledge. Data analysis was performed using Descriptive Statistics. Results identified that 67% (n=2) responded to understand that vaping is not a better alternative to smoking traditional cigarettes. As a result, no significant statistical change was found after five weeks of vaping education. To conclude, further research is required to identify improvement in vaping knowledge through the vaping educational program.