Empowering New York City Youth to Live Vape Free

In collaboration with the New York City Public Schools and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, CATCH is providing its nationally-recognized and evidence-based youth vaping prevention program, Recuperar el aliento, to public school educators serving middle and high school students.

Through a generous grant from the New York Health Foundation, up to 210 educators during the 2023-2025 school years will receive free training on CATCH My Breath program implementation, customized parent and student engagement resources, and quarterly access to a vaping prevention e-Newsletter and Communities of Practice event in order to learn the latest research and best practices. Additionally, middle and high school students will be engaged across New York City in youth empowerment and service learning opportunities via a citywide public service announcement (PSA) contest in the 2024-2025 school year.

A pesar de las numerosas consecuencias para la salud, el vapeo y los cigarrillos electrónicos siguen ganando terreno entre los jóvenes de la ciudad de Nueva York. En 2019, uno de cada seis estudiantes de secundaria informó haber usado cigarrillos electrónicos. Casi cinco veces más estudiantes de secundaria en la ciudad de Nueva York usan cigarrillos electrónicos que fuman cigarrillos. En 2018, uno de cada 15 estudiantes de secundaria informó haber usado cigarrillos electrónicos. Los cigarrillos electrónicos son particularmente dañinos para los jóvenes porque es más probable que quienes los usan comiencen a fumar cigarrillos y, además, la nicotina afecta el desarrollo cerebral de los jóvenes.

The goals of the CATCH My Breath NYC initiative are to reduce the initiation of nicotine vaping by middle and high school students by building the capacity of educators to deliver vaping prevention education to students and parents, and empower students to choose and advocate for a vape-free lifestyle.