Grant Award Amount: $450,000
Principal Investigator: Kelli England Will, Ph.D., Eastern Virginia Medical School, Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Community Health and Research
Collaborating Partners: Consortium for Infant and Child Health (CINCH), YMCA of South Hampton Roads
Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS; also known as e-cigarettes or vapes) may pose less risk than combustible cigarettes, but researchers are still examining their effects on health and urge caution that ENDS are certainly not harmless. ENDS use by nonsmoking youth carries hidden hazards such as inhaling fine particulate matter into the lungs and the risk of progression to combustible tobacco use. This project will inform, create, pilot, and disseminate a guiding framework for embedding more effective ENDS and alternative tobacco education into multiple community settings in Virginia. The research team will use a community-engaged research process to understand what information is currently being used in local community settings related to ENDS education for teens, to what degree that information is evidence-based, and if the information being used for education is engaging and effective with teens.