Preventing Vaping/E-Cigarette (ENDS) Use in NH Youth and Young Adults: Formative Research and Social Marketing Campaign

JSI conducted formative research, developed and executed a youth-segmented, social marketing campaign to prevent the use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS; e.g., e-cigarettes, JUUL, vape) among youth in NH.

BACKGROUND

JSI was contracted by the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Tobacco Prevention & Cessation Program (TPCP) to conduct formative research to inform development of a youth-segmented, social marketing campaign. The general purpose of the campaign is to prevent vaping or the use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS; e.g., e-cigarettes, e-vapor products, JUUL) among youth in New Hampshire, particularly those with disparate burdens of ENDS.

This project has been active since 2018, and will continue until 2021. The project team has implemented the Save Your Breath campaign, which is aimed at New Hampshire youth between 13 and 18 years old. Despite growing evidence that vaping harms physical and mental health, especially among youth, in the short and long term, vaping rates continue to grow. In New Hampshire, 49.8% of high school-aged youth reported use of a vaping product (an increase from 41.1% in 2017) and 33.8% currently use a vaping product (an increase from 23.8% in 2017); in comparison 5.5% currently smoke cigarettes, per the 2019 New Hampshire Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

JSI built on our previous experience with tobacco and vaping prevention among youth to design a digitally-focused campaign to highlight the risks of vaping and tobacco use. In the statewide survey on ENDS use by NH youth conducted by JSI, the overall prevalence of using a vaping device was significantly higher: “ever use” was 60% and “current use” was 53%.

Save Your Breath encourages youth to see behind Big Tobacco’s lies: while vape flavors make vaping sound safe, vaping harms youth’s lungs and mental health and the nicotine in vapes can make it hard to stop. The campaign uses digital platforms, including TikTok, Snapchat, and Spotify, to reach New Hampshire youth where they are and encourage them to take control of their health by saving their breath from Big Tobacco.