Press Release

A new project is designed to help reduce youth tobacco use in Adams County by increasing tobacco prevention education for students in grades 7-12, providing cessation classes for students and communicating with parents.

The project will be coordinated by the Adams County Medical Foundation in partnership with the Ohio Valley and Manchester Local School Districts. It is funded with a $75,000 grant from Interact for Health, a Cincinnati-based foundation that aims to improve the health of all people in a 20-county region that includes Adams County.

Both Ohio Valley and Manchester Local School Districts have tobacco-free campus policies in place, but staff and administrators in both districts report an increase in student use of e-cigarettes and vaping products.

“Students don’t realize how harmful e-cigarettes and vaping are and believe it is much safer than smoking cigarettes,” said Tami Graham, Project Coordinator and Adams County Medical Foundation Chair. “And with the wide variety of tobacco products on the market and the use of flavoring and other additives, it is harder for us as educators and administrators to identify and respond to student tobacco use at school.”

According to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, 29.8% of Ohio high schoolers use e-cigarettes. In Adams County, 31.52% of 7th through 12th grade students used an electronic vapor product.

Tobacco use among adults in Adams County was at 30% in 2018, is slightly higher than the statewide rate of 20%. The county also ranks 88th out of 88 for health factors in the most recent County Health Rankings, which includes tobacco use.

“Tobacco cessation is not a one-size fits all approach,” said Sherry Stout, Executive Director, Adams County Medical Foundation. “By offering education to all youth, and an evidence-based cessation program for those who are using e-cigarettes or vaping products, we hope to have a lasting impact on health in our county by reaching youth before they become addicted and helping those who currently use tobacco to quit.”

The program includes the following components:

· Implementation of the Not on Tobacco evidence-based tobacco cessation program for students who want to stop using tobacco in both school districts for students in grades 7 through 12.

· Offering INDEPTH, an alternative to suspension program to students who face suspension for a violation of the school tobacco policy.

· Implementation of a marketing campaign for students and parents to help encourage meaningful conversations between parents and kids about the dangers of tobacco use.

· Provide tobacco prevention and cessation education to teachers and administration in both school districts to better enable them to understand the dangers of tobacco-related products and enable them to talk with students about the dangers of tobacco products

· Hold “Take Back Days” for students to turn in tobacco related products. The “Take Back Day” will include incentives to encourage student participation and hold them harmless for participating.

The project will reach more than 2,000 students, 2,600 parents and 140 teachers/staff. It began in October and run until April 2023.

For more information, please contact Tami Graham, Tami.Graham@acmedicalfoundation.org.

The Adams County Medical Foundation (ACMF) is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization and philanthropic investor in prevention efforts within our community.

The mission of the Foundation is to provide support to the Adams County Regional Medical Center and community-based health-related endeavors to ensure premium health care programs and service availability to the residents of the Adams County region.