For Schools 

E-cigarettes and Vaping: Resources for Schools

These tools and resources are for Iowa school staff, including administrators, educators, teachers and health services staff, who are working to address the use of e-cigarettes and other vaping products in schools. This page outlines opportunities for action that can be taken by various school staff, along with resources and tools to help.

School Administrators

Tobacco-free spaces are a proven way to prevent youth tobacco use and protect students, faculty, and visitors from secondhand smoke. Tobacco-free schools is one way to address the increasing popularity of e-cigarettes and other vaping devices among youth.

Iowa Vape-Free Schools Toolkit

click the image below to download a PDF version of the toolkit

Here's what you can do:

• Strengthen and review current policy.
  • Model School Tobacco and Nicotine Free Policy: Public & Accredited Non-Public Schools (Iowa Department of Public Health)
  • Addressing Student Commercial Tobacco Use in Schools: Alternative Measures (Public Health Law Center)
  • Commercial Tobacco-Free K-12 School Model Policy: Questions and Answers (PDF) (Public Health Law Center)
  • Commercial Tobacco-Free K-12 School Model Policy (PDF) (Public Health Law Center)
• Promote health messaging throughout school.
  • Free print and digital material, such as posters:
    • Free Signage (Iowa Students for Tobacco Education and Prevention)
    • If you don’t think vaping is addictive, it may have already altered your brain (FDA)
    • A nicotine-free vape is not a worry-free vape (FDA)
    • CTP’s Exchange Lab
• Educate parents about vaping and the risks.
  • E-cigarettes and Youth: What Parents Need to Know (PDF) (CDC)
  • Teachers and Parents: That USB Stick Might Be an E-cigarette poster (CDC)
  • Know The Risks E-Cigarettes and Young People (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
  • Vaping: What You Need to Know And How to Talk With Your Kids (PDF) (Partnership for Drug-Free Kids)

Shareable Documents

Click the image below for downloadable social media images and messages.

Click the image below for downloadable posters that can be printed and shared.

Curriculum Coordinators, Health Educators, and Teachers

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides evidence-based recommendations to help design and implement quality school programs to prevent tobacco use. While the tobacco industry continues to engage schools and offer free tobacco prevention curriculum, industry-sponsored school-based programs are ineffective and may ultimately promote tobacco use among youth.

• Quick Facts on the Risks of E-cigarettes for Kids, Teens, and Young Adults(CDC)

Here's what you can do

• Update curriculum that addresses the harms of nicotine and e-cigarette use.
• Often times the tobacco industry sponsors youth prevention programs, see the link below to learn more about how these are ineffective.
• The CDC developed this presentation to educate youth on e-cigarettes, including the health risks, the factors that lead to e-cigarette use, and what youth can do to avoid all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. This resource is intended for adults who educate or serve youth ages 11 – 18 (teachers, youth ministers, coaches, scout leaders, etc.). Utilizing the talking points and information for users document, the presenter does not require additional information, nor permission to deliver the presentation.
  • Presentation for Youth: Know the Risks - A Youth Guide to E-cigarettes (CDC & IDPH)
• Disposing of E-Cigarette Waste (PDF)