Hawaii Launches Intervention Program to Prevent Youth Vaping

Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that 18% of middle school students in Hawaii are using e-cigarettes, the highest rate among the 14 states surveyed. Of these young people, 30% are of Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander ancestry, with e-cigarette use being highest among Hawaii's major ethnic groups.

Scott Okamoto, a researcher at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center, has been awarded $2.8 million in funding to develop interventions for preventing electronic cigarette use among rural youth in Hawaii. The project is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and is based on Hoʻouna Pono, a substance abuse prevention program designed for rural Hawaii teenagers.

An electronic cigarette intervention program will update the existing Hoʻouna Pono curriculum and introduce new electronic cigarette and vaping prevention content, including social and print media campaigns in intermediate and multi-level public and public charter schools on the island of Hawaii. Over 500 students are expected to participate in this study within the next five years.

According to Okamoto, "To our knowledge, this is the first study that develops and tests e-cigarette prevention interventions specifically for rural youth in Hawaii. Our proposed intervention will educate young people about the risks of using e-cigarettes, while reflecting the cultural and relational values of Hawaii's rural youth and communities.

Teenagers and young adults who use e-cigarettes experience adverse respiratory symptoms including symptoms of asthma and bronchitis. E-cigarette use also increases the risk of using combustible tobacco, which is directly linked to lung cancer.

Preventing the use of electronic cigarettes through a reliable intervention program not only helps reduce serious respiratory illnesses but also prevents rural Hawaiian youth from potentially using combustible cigarettes.

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