Proposed city budget provides funding to expand vaping awareness & prevention program

Vaping, now the most commonly used tobacco product by young people, believing it’s safer than cigarette smoking, may actually be more dangerous in its impact on brain development, mood, and impulse control, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

However, the good news is that most middle and high school students who vape want to quit.

Authority Health has gotten out in front of the problem at its school-based health center in Hope Academy in Detroit, where the principal expressed alarm in the rise of vaping behavior among the school’s students. Jeaninne Williams, the health center’s nurse practitioner, provided the “You and Me Together: Vape-Free” program for Hope students recently. The evidence-based program was developed by Standford University.

Mayor Sheffield’s 2026-27 budget proposal allocates $25,000 for Authority Health to provide “You and Me Together: Vape-Free” to Detroit schools next fall.

Loretta Bush, in a summary of the program’s effectiveness, noted that “the program has demonstrated efficacy in reducing vaping initiation and promoting sustained abstinence among youth populations. Implementing this intervention in the school-based health center offers several advantages. Its core components include peer-led education, motivational interviewing, and skill-building activities that empower students to make informed decisions about their health.”

Authority Health is following the lead of the CDC to address both middle school students who want to quite vaping and connecting with younger students to keep them from starting.

“This age group represents a critical developmental period where attitudes and behaviors related to tobacco and e-cigarette use are forming. Targeting students withing this age range allows for the promotion of health, vape-free norms before vaping behaviors become established. Additionally, this group is accessible through school settings, facilitating the delivery of evidence-based prevention strategies in a structured environment. Focusing on 3rd to 8th graders helps to establish a strong foundation for lifelong tobacco-free behaviors and reduces the likelihood of early initiation,” she said.

According to the CDC, nicotine poses unique dangers to youth because their brains are still developing:

• Most e-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is highly addictive. Nicotine can harm the parts of an adolescent brain that controls attention, learning, mood, and impulse control.
• Nicotine can harm brain development, which continues until about age 25.
• Youth can start showing signs of nicotine addiction quickly, sometimes before the start of regular or daily use.
• Adolescents who use nicotine may be at increased risk for future addiction to other drugs.