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In our fight to end youth and young adult nicotine addiction, we focus on the issues that matter most. We constantly monitor the latest topics and trends in commercial tobacco and substance use.

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At Truth Initiative, we are committed to a future free from lifelong addiction, fostering healthier lives and a more resilient nation. We are the nation’s largest nonprofit public health organization dedicated to preventing youth and young adult nicotine addiction and empowering quitting for all.

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Get the latest facts and analyses on the most important issues related to smoking, vaping, nicotine and substance use.

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By driving behavior and policy change, we prevent addiction, increase quitting, reduce nicotine dependence, and expand cessation support and access. All backed by rigorous research and evaluation.

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Youth Vaping Prevention & Resources to Quit

To educate America’s students about the dangers of tobacco, nicotine and cannabis, Truth Initiative provides a national prevention curriculum called Vaping: Know the truth. This free digital learning experience is made available to schools by EVERFI®, the leader in financial and life skills education, and has reached more than 1.8 million students with the facts they need to make informed decisions about nicotine and cannabis use.

In addition to encouraging students to live vape-free lives, this self-led interactive curriculum offers quitting resources to help young people who currently use tobacco, nicotine and/or cannabis through EX Program, a proven effective digital cessation solution that combines behavioral support, text coaching, and the most established online quit community. An evaluation of the program found that enrolled teens were 35% more likely to report not using nicotine after seven months.

Explore the program

In Vaping: Know the truth students will learn to:

  • Recognize the physiological and psychological properties of nicotine and cannabis
  • Recognize the health risks associated with vaping (nicotine, cannabis, and co-use) due to their chemical ingredients and delivery mechanism
  • Recognize that they are empowered to make healthy and informed choices, and to help others make those choices
  • And much more! Download Course Overview

Course Topics:

Lesson One: Know
Lesson One
Know
This lesson introduces learners to the topic of vaping, invites them to reflect on their awareness and knowledge of the topic, covers a brief history of tobacco and nicotine industries, and covers the ingredients present in common e-cigarettes.
Lesson Two: Uncover
Lesson Two
Uncover
This lesson breaks down tobacco and nicotine products to show what they contain, how they’re marketed, and why claims of safety are misleading. It highlights the harm nicotine use causes to health, mental health, and the environment and emphasizes that all nicotine products are addictive, while quitting leads to real health improvements.
Lesson Three: Overcome
Lesson Three
Overcome
This lesson challenges learners to consider the dangers of nicotine addiction, reinforces addiction as a primary danger of vaping, and lays the framework for quitting.
Lesson Four: Change
Lesson Four
Change
This lesson explains how the brain makes decisions and how nicotine can hijack that process. It gives students tools to help them make healthy choices and decisions, and deal with stress and peer pressure.
Lesson Five
Explore
This lesson prompts learners to explore the short- and long-term health effects, risks, and consequences of using cannabis, as well as co-use of nicotine and cannabis.
Lesson Six
Choose
This lesson equips learners with knowledge about why their peers may use cannabis. It enables learners to make healthy choices, and take better care of themselves.
Recommended Grade Levels:
8-12
Total Time
60-90
Minutes
Cost:
$0
Vaping: Know the truth is a course created by Truth Initiative on nicotine and cannabis prevention and resources to quit, made available at no cost to students and teachers.

Additional Resources

made available through our teacher dashboard after signing up for the course

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