E-Cigarette Prevention
CATCH collaborated with researchers at Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health to create CATCH My Breath™, a prevention program specific to middle and high schoolers’ use of E-cigarettes.
Quick Links
Interested in using the CATCH My Breath Youth E-cigarette Prevention Program? Learn more below and fill out the General Enrollment Form when you’re ready to sign up.
- General Enrollment Form
- View a sample Middle School lesson
- View a sample High School lesson
- E-cigarette information and videos
- Parent resources
- MD Anderson ASPIRE tobacco prevention program
The CATCH My Breath Youth E-cigarette Prevention Program’s goal is to increase students’ knowledge of E-cigarettes, nicotine and addiction dangers while cutting their intended use of the product in the future. Our aim is to inform and educate teachers, parents, and health professionals in the school/after-school setting to equip students with answers about E-cigarettes to make informed decisions.
CATCH My Breath includes active student-centered learning facilitated by peer leaders. The program offers in-class activities, teacher education, online resources, and take-home materials for parents. The program is based on state of the art tobacco awareness and prevention best-practices and is being evaluated for outcome evidence. The curriculum consists of 4 lessons at 30-40 minutes each.
The program’s key learning objectives include: knowledge of E-cigarettes and potential harms, understanding and analyzing deceptive advertising techniques, developing and practicing socially acceptable refusal skills and practicing peer modeling techniques in small groups.
Specifically, the intended outcomes are to ensure that students will:
- Understand that E-cigarettes are addictive, unhealthy and not as popular as they think.
- Resist their own curiosity and peer pressure to experiment with E-cigarettes.
- Influence friends and peers to not use E-cigarettes.
Video Playlist: E-Cigarettes / CATCH My Breath
Who is intended to teach the program?
CATCH My Breath was designed to be taught by teachers, tobacco educators, counselors, or nurses. The curriculum can be taught in various subjects to include: science, health, physical education and advisory. The curriculum includes active student-centered learning facilitated by peer leaders.
Why education on e-cigarettes?
E-cigarettes are increasingly popular among adolescents, and currently there is no other education and prevention curriculum specifically targeted at E-cigarettes. While the purchase of E-cigarettes by minors is prohibited, the use of E-cigarettes among youth and adolescents is on the rise. This is particularly concerning as the liquid in E-cigarettes contains nicotine, and the chemicals in nicotine liquids are not currently regulated for safety standards, with unknown health effects. The toxicology of E-cigarettes is uncertain.
Interested in a short and informative video on E-cigarettes from the United States Surgeon General? Check out this video from the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living’s Lectureship in Child Health.
“I BELIEVE THERE IS NO REASON CHILDREN SHOULD BE USING E-CIGARETTES.”
U.S. SURGEON GENERAL, VIVEK H. MURTHY, M.D., M.B.A
U.S. SURGEON GENERAL, VIVEK H. MURTHY, M.D., M.B.A
What is the target age for the catch my breath program?
The target age is students in middle and high school, 11-18 years old.
What training is provided?
Training will be facilitated in a virtual setting via online video, webinar or YouTube. We expect the training session to be an hour long and is intended for whomever is implementing the program.
How much will the program cost?
The program is available at no cost to schools thanks to generous funding support from CVS Health.
How can I enroll in the CATCH My Breath Program?
You may enroll in the program via our website, here.
Who developed the Program?
The program was developed by the Michael & Susan Dell Center (MSD Center) for Healthy Living at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health. The MSD Center is a national Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science site.
What have other teachers said about the CATCH My Breath program?
Click to download a one-pager on pilot data findings
The CATCH Global Foundation, in conjunction with the UTSPH, conducted a pilot project in May 2016 among teachers in 26 pilot sites, across 5 states and involving 2,255 students. Twenty-eight teachers provided feedback which included the following:
- 91 percent agreed or strongly agreed that the lessons were culturally appropriate for their students
- 91 percent agreed or strongly agreed that they felt confident in their ability to teach the curriculum
- 86 percent agreed that the additional teacher resources provided sufficient background information to teach the lessons
- 73 percent agreed or strongly agreed that the peer leadership model worked well
- 68 percent agreed or strongly agreed that their students enjoyed the lessons
How can I learn more about the curriculum and receive additional information to attend an online training/webinar?
For additional information or if you are interested in using this curriculum, please contact catchmybreath@catch.org.
Resources
For more information on the research behind CATCH My Breath, how CATCH is involved, and our findings on the need for this program, take a look at these PDF downloads:
From the Surgeon General / U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ E-Cigarette website:
- “Talk with Your Teens About E-cigarettes: A Tip Sheet for Parents”
- Fact Sheet
- Video PSA: “Any Volunteers? The Risk of E-Cigarettes for Young People”
The Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science (TCORS) produces webinars, available on their YouTube page.
Relevant articles on E-Cigarette use:
Information on recent FDA Ruling on E-cigarettes and other Tobacco Products:
- The Deeming Regulation: FDA Authority Over E-cigarettes, Cigars, and other Tobacco Products (From Public Health Law Center)
- State and Local Tobacco Regulation in a Post-Deeming World (From Public Health Law Center)
- One Pager on May 2016’s Tobacco and Nicotine Ruling
- Austin American Statesman Article on teen E-cigarette use citing the work of CATCH My Breath developer Steve Kelder
From CDC:
- CDC’s “Notes from the Field: Electronic Cigarette Use Among Middle and High School Students — United States, 2011–2012”
- CDC’s “E-cigarette Ads and Youth”
- “No decline in overall youth tobacco use since 2011,” a report on youth tobacco use from the CDC
From Truth Initiative:
- Truth Initiative’s “Understanding Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems”
- Truth Initiative’s “The Truth About: Ends”
Other:
References
- 1. The Class of 1989 Study team later published a program called the Minnesota Smoking Prevention Program which is commercially available at Hazelden.org.
The following organizations collaborated in the pilot project for CATCH my Breath:
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