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In Southwest Virginia, Carroll County Public Schools practices a prevention program that focuses on the mental and physical wellbeing of students, as well as education and intervention, for students found using tobacco and nicotine products.  

The school system uses VFHY grant funding to implement INDEPTH, a youth nicotine use prevention program developed by the American Lung Association. INDEPTH focuses on providing intervention as an alternative to disciplinary action for students found using tobacco and nicotine products.  

Rather than face suspension or even legal action for underage possession, students enrolled in INDEPTH receive lessons about the dangers of tobacco and nicotine, along with strategies to help them overcome urges to use these products.  

Effective nicotine use prevention programming goes deeper than simply telling youth that tobacco and nicotine are bad for them – it equips youth with the resources they need to avoid these products. 

Carroll County Public Schools takes intervention and prevention programming to the next level by incorporating exercise classes. Students participating in INDEPTH can take classes in yoga and weightlifting, and the program previously had an instructor offering self-defense and CrossFit classes.  

The exercise classes support tobacco prevention in multiple ways. Physical activity is known to improve mood and alleviate stress, addressing one of the main reasons why young people turn to nicotine and other substances: to cope with mental health struggles.  

Exercise also shows youth how damaging smoking and vaping is to the body – students experience how important having healthy lungs, stamina, and energy is for leading a full life.  

Ashely Coble, the Student Assistant Counselor for Carroll County Public Schools, notes that kids and teens often start vaping simply out of boredom. Exercise classes give students a fun and productive way to fill their free time.  

Another important part of Carroll County’s prevention efforts is education. Coble has found that many students who use e-cigarettes are not aware of what’s in these products or their potential to seriously harm their physical and mental health.  

“Vaping is relatively new, so [scientists] haven’t had the last thirty years to study the effects on what it’s doing to a person… We don’t know, essentially, what it’s going to do to you in the very long run,” Coble said. She added that students are shocked to learn that e-cigarette liquid contains dangerous chemicals like formaldehyde.  

But there is hope: Coble has seen students open up throughout the program, becoming more willing to share their feelings and experiences with program facilitators and their peers. Many students who go through the program express a desire to quit vaping for good.  

Are you looking to implement tobacco/nicotine prevention work in your own community? Download our free nicotine product prevention lessons. Learn more here: https://www.vfhy.org/prevention-lessons/