March 4, 2021  | By CATCH Global Foundation

Mississippi State Department of Health Names CATCH My Breath to Expand Statewide Youth Vaping Prevention Initiative

JACKSON, MS, March 4, 2021 — The Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) today announced the award of a $100,000 youth vaping prevention services grant to CATCH My Breath, an evidence-based and peer-reviewed youth nicotine vaping prevention program.

By awarding CATCH My Breath this contract, MSDH joins California, Indiana, North Carolina, Tennessee, and others in selecting CATCH My Breath to lead their youth vaping prevention efforts.

“Incorporating and promoting the youth voice in the statewide and national vaping prevention conversation is a crucial element to eliminating this issue. Our goal is to empower students to take control of their choices regarding e-cigarettes and vaping through this evidence-based curriculum,” said Darrius Moore, the MSDH Youth Programs Division Director.

The grant efforts will support the expanded implementation of the CATCH My Breath program in middle and high schools across Mississippi, as well as coordination of Mississippi’s participation in Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, Take Down Tobacco National Day of Action, which will involve a coordinated “virtual field trip” in partnership with Discovery Education on April 1st; and statewide anti-vaping poster and PSA contest, open to Mississippi youth; and the addition of a Mississippi student to the CATCH My Breath Youth Advisory Board of Directors.

The CATCH My Breath program, developed by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health and disseminated by CATCH Global Foundation, currently reaches more than 1.4 million youth in grades 5-12 in the U.S. annually. Recent studies show that youth who complete the program are 45% less likely to experiment with vaping than youth who do not.

“CATCH has been at the forefront of the vaping prevention movement for the past four years,” said, Duncan Van Dusen, CEO of CATCH Global Foundation. “Unfortunately, we continue to see youth adopt the habit of vaping at alarming rates. With generous partners like the Office of Tobacco Control, we can bring our proven prevention program to more young people across the state. We know that youth who complete our program are more likely to make the healthy choice to be vape free.”

The contract award from MSDH will foster the expansion of CATCH My Breath in Mississippi during the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year.

Schools can sign up to participate in the April 1st Virtual Field Trip event by visiting catchmybreath.org/ms

To learn more about the other initiatives from the Mississippi State Department of Health, Office of Tobacco Control, please visit: Tobacco Control – Mississippi State Department of Health (ms.gov)

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About MSDH Office of Tobacco Control:
The Office of Tobacco Control was created in 2007 by the Mississippi State Department of Health to address the impact of tobacco use. The mission of the Office of Tobacco Control is to promote and protect the health of all Mississippians by reducing tobacco-related disease and death. The OTC utilizes a systemic approach to achieve this end. The program components include: Community and State Interventions, Tobacco Cessation Interventions, Surveillance and Evaluation, and Administration and Management.

About CATCH Global Foundation:
CATCH Global Foundation is a 501(c)3 public charity founded in 2014. Our mission is to improve children’s health worldwide by developing, disseminating and sustaining the CATCH platform in collaboration with researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health. This platform includes the CATCH My Breath youth vaping prevention program, as well as CATCH Health programs focusing on nutrition, physical activity, mindfulness, and more. The Foundation links underserved schools and communities to the resources necessary to create and sustain healthy change for future generations. For more information, visit www.catch.org.