Click here for evidence-based youth tobacco and vaping cessation curriculums and resources!

CATCH My Breath

FREE online evidence-based middle and high school lessons for teachers on electronic cigarettes and JUUL prevention. CATCH My Breath was the first curriculum on the market focused on youth e-cigarette prevention and is continuously updated to include emerging products. This curriculum can be used to supplement any tobacco curriculums that teachers may already use, but that don’t include the latest information on e-cigarettes. The intended outcomes of this curriculum are to ensure students will: understand that e-cigarettes are addictive, unhealthy, and not as popular as they think; influence friends and peers to not use e-cigarettes; and resist their own curiosity and peer pressure to experience with e-cigarettes. The online curriculum includes in-class activities, teacher education and take-home materials for parents. The program is consists of four lessons at 30 to 40 minutes each. There are three modules for 5^th/6^th grades, 7^th/8^th grades, 9^th-12^th grades. (More Information)

Stanford Medicine Tobacco Prevention Toolkit

FREE online middle and high school modules for teachers or adults that work with youth. The toolkit was created by educators and researchers and is theory-based and evidence-informed.

Scholastic: The Real Cost of Vaping

FREE online lessons, activities, and printable resources for teachers grades 6-12. Lessons are in both English and Spanish.

FREE power point with follow along scripts for teachers and adults that work with youth ages 11-18 to from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Project Towards No Tobacco (TNT)

Project TNT (Towards No Tobacco) is a comprehensive evidence-based curriculum that utilizes a skills approach to prevention. This is a 10-day curriculum program for Grades 5-9 and includes games, videos, role plays, and a video project. Project TNT has been identified by the CDC as a Program That Works in reducing the use of cigarettes and spit tobacco and is included in the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices. Hard copies of this curriculum can be borrowed from the Public Health Department.

Life Skills Training

A nationally-known curricula, Life Skills Training is a school-based program that has been shown to reduce the use of gateway drugs (tobacco, alcohol, inhalants, marijuana) in all populations studied. This curriculum targets the major social and psychological factors that promote the initiation of substance use and other risky behaviors. There are three distinct curriculums for elementary, middle and high school. Curriculum materials are available in Spanish. Life Skills Training is included in the SAMSHA National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices.

Project Alert

A school-based prevention program for middle or junior high school students that focuses on alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use. Project Alert is designed to help motivate youth to avoid using drugs and to teach them the skills they need to understand and resist social influences. The curriculum is comprised of 11 lessons in the first year and 3 lessons in the second year. Project ALERT is included in the SAMSHA National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices. Curriculum materials are available in Spanish. A Peer Teen Leader component is also available. For more information, visit the Project ALERT web site.

For a complete list of evidence-based tobacco prevention programs, please visit the SAMHSA National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices. 

Chatham County Public Health Department Youth Tobacco Presentations

The Chatham County Public Health Department supports the work of the school district and teachers in the classroom. Knowing the time constraints that teachers face, we have created presentations that teachers may use on their own. All information presented is aligned with the North Carolina Essential Standards.

These presentations provide a general overview of:

• Current Youth Tobacco Use;
• Different Tobacco Products; 
• Tobacco Industry and Marketing Techniques;
• Emerging Tobacco Products;
• Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), such as Electronic Cigarettes;
• Health Risks and Concerns of Tobacco Use;
• Legal Consequences of Tobacco Use;
• Chatham County School’s Tobacco Policy;
• Refusal Strategies and Skills;
• Tobacco Cessation Resources, and;
• Youth Tobacco Prevention Efforts 

These presentations and materials listed below are available for use in your classroom, after school program, or youth group:

• Youth Tobacco Presentation (general overview of tobacco)
• Tobacco Products: Cigarettes and Beyond
• Tobacco Marketing Influence on Youth
• Tobacco Consequences
• The Future of Tobacco
•  Youth Tobacco Presentations: Presenter Guide

The Chatham County Public Health Department also has print materials that parents and teachers can use to help talk with students about tobacco use.

Topics include: 

• The Health Consequences of Smoking
• The Health Consequences of Spit Tobacco
• Nicotine and Addiction
• Tobacco and Vaping Cessation
• Candy-Flavored Tobacco
• E-Cigarettes
• Vaping and E-Cigarettes: What Parents Should Know

Please contact Anna Stormzand, Youth Health and Tobacco Initiative Lead, with the Chatham County Public Health Department, for any questions or assistance with youth tobacco/vaping prevention programming or cessation at anna.stormzand@chathamcountync.gov or (919) 545-8445.