Assessing Vaping Exposure Risk for Teens (AVERT): A Resource Linkage Tool
The AVERT tool is for youth-serving professionals to assess a teen’s risk of vaping use and addiction. This assessment is used to find risk-matched resources for each youth. The assessment can be completed with the teen present or after a discussion with them. If unsure about how the youth would answer, you can make your best guess. The assessment will match the teen to a risk level and link them to a list of resources appropriate for that risk level.
Level one includes over half of high school students in Virginia who report never using a substance. We suggest you encourage and congratulate the teens at this level for their good judgment and recommend one of the following resources.
| Resources | Descriptions and Services | Target Audience | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| (ASPIRE) A Smoking Prevention Interactive Experience: The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center | A prevention education service for teens and adolescents that is evidenced-based and tackles the full range of traditional and emerging products such as e-cigarettes(vapes, JUUL, etc.), hookah, and synthetic nicotine. | Best for adults seeking to engage youth between the ages of 11-18 in middle or high schools or other community/education settings. | Access is free but an account is required. Educators can monitor student's progress and grades.The program is also available in Spanish. |
| Behind the Haze | Behind the Haze offers a growing library of Message Packages, each containing all the creative elements necessary to deliver a specific vaping prevention message tailored to your community. | Best for youth between the ages of 11-18. | Content can be accessed on the Behind the Haze website, YouTube channel, and Rescue Agency. |
| NOT for Me Online: American Lung Association | NOT for Me is a self-guided, mobile-friendly online program that uses information fromtheAmerican Lung Association’s Not On Tobacco (N-O-T)® program to help teens break nicotine dependency, whether they vape, smoke or use other tobacco products. | Best for teens or adults (parents or helping professionals). | The N-O-T (Not On Tobacco) for Me free and available on the American Lung Association website. |
| Rethink Vape: EVMS and funded by the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth | Information and resources built with input from teens, medical professionals, and researchers to provide education and prevention about vaping. | Best for teens, parents, and providers | Content and information can be accessed for free on the Rethink Vape website. |
| The Real Cost of Vapes: FDA/HHS | Provides accurate, up-to-date information about the harmful effects of tobacco use, so teens can know the real cost of smoking, vaping, and other tobacco use | Best for youth between the ages of 11-18. | Information is freely available on the website. |
| Vaping - the Truth Initiative | Prevention and cessation information about vaping from the Truth Initiative. Features facts and information with graphics about vaping and the tobacco industry, videos, articles, and activities like quizzes to facilitate learning. | Best for youth between the ages of 11-18. | Information is freely available on the website. |
| Stanford Tobacco Prevention Toolkit: You and Me, Together Vape-Free Curriculum | A 6-lesson evidence-based curriculum created by the Stanford REACH Lab as well as by our Youth Action Board, educators, healthcare providers, and scientists across the U.S. Every lesson provides activities, online quiz games, and worksheets in addition to presentations, resources, and other materials aimed at addressing key factors associated with youth e-cigarette use. | Schools or teachers of elementary, middle, and high school grade levels. | Free and open access to materials. Needs access to a computer and internet. |
| Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth: Nicotine Products Prevention Lessons | Nicotine Products Prevention Lessons provides prevention education for K-12 grade levels about products that contain nicotine. These lessons are correlated with Virginia’s Standards of Learning. | Schools or teachers of grades K-12. | Free access to materials after completing a form on the website. |
Level two includes about a quarter of Virginia high school students who report experimenting with substance use. We recommend the following resources to support the youth in refraining from further substance use.
| Resources | Description and Services | Target Audience | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| INDEPTH –An Alternative to Suspension or Citation: American Lung Association | Instead of solely focusing on punitive measures, INDEPTH is an interactive program that teaches students about nicotine dependence, establishing healthy alternatives and how to kick the unhealthy addiction that got them in trouble in the first place. INDEPTH is taught by any trained adult in four, 50-minutes sessions. Each session addresses a different tobacco-related issue and can be facilitated either one-on-one or in a group setting. | Best for youth between the ages of 11-18 in middle or high schools. Any adult can complete the online INDEPTH training, and receive a step-by-step guide that can be used to plan and implement the INDEPTH program at their school or community-based organization. | The free INDEPTH facilitator training can be accessed on the American Lung Association website. The training can be taken as a stand–alone training but is recommended to be taken within the N-O-T (Not On Tobacco) facilitator training. |
| NOT for Me Online: American Lung Association | NOT for Me is a self-guided, mobile-friendly online program that leverages the American Lung Association’s Not On Tobacco (N-O-T)® program to help teens break nicotine dependency, whether they vape, smoke or use other tobacco products. | Best for teens or adults (parents or helping professionals). | The N-O-T (Not On Tobacco) for Me free and available on the American Lung Association website. |
| Quit Vaping: Smokefreeteen from NCI/NIH/HHS | Information and resources to quit vaping and stay vape-free. Includes resources, quit planning tools, and information to assist with quitting vaping. | Best for teens or adults (parents or helping professionals). | Information is freely available on the website. |
| Vaping – Know the Truth: EVERFI | Vaping education program for grades 8-12 from EVERFI and The Truth Initiative. Four 5-10 minute digital lessons that could be delivered on individual basis and in a classroom setting. Focus is on education and prevention but also provides access to the text message quit vaping program, This is Quitting. | Best for adults seeking to engage youth between the ages of 11-18 in middle or high schools or other community/education settings. | EVERFI secures community partners to sponsor K-12 schools so all EVERFI lessons, resources, and support so they’re always free for districts. Teachers, providers, and students can access the content on EVERFI.com. |
| Stanford Tobacco Prevention Toolkit: Healthy Futures Curriculum: Alternative-to-Suspension Curriculum | This program is geared for students who have been caught using e-cigarettes (or really any tobacco product) and/or for any students who are interested in trying to quit. This program is packed with a self-paced lesson, a group 2- or 4-hour teacher or counselor-led curriculum, quitting resources, and more!! | Middle and high schools can be used as an educational opportunity in lieu of or in addition to suspension | Free and open access to materials. Needs access to a computer and internet. |
| Resources | Description and Services | Target Audience | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| BecomeAnEX (‘EX’): Truth Initiative®and Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center | This program also offers 24/7 support in the EX Community from former smokers, information about addiction and medications to help with quitting, text messaging support and conversation guides for parents, and there are interactive tools and videos for quitting techniques for parents to pass along to their children such as building a quit plan. | Adults, young adults, and parents with teens who smoke, vape, dip, or chew. | Access is free but an account is required. |
| This is Quitting: the Truth Initiative | The first-of-its-kind program to help young people quit vaping, This is Quitting has helped nearly 400,000 youth and young adults on their journey to quit vaping. Learn more about how it works and the additional resources available for parents of young vapers and for adults who want to quit. | This is Quitting is tailored based on age (within 13 to 24 years old) and product usage to give teens and young adults appropriate recommendations about quitting. | Teens and young adults can join for free by texting DITCHVAPE to 88709 |
| Live Vape Free VA: Virginia Department of Health | Live Vape Free Virginia is a free service offering professional support and expert advice to parents and teens.The program educates young people about the harms of vaping and offers the support they need to quit and empowers parents to have productive conversations with their teens about the risks of vaping. | Best for teens and parents. | Services can be accessed for free on the Live Vape Free website. |
Level three includes the approximately 1 in 10 Virginia high school students who report regular substance use. We recommend the following resources to support the youth in quitting nicotine vaping and/or other substance use.
| Resources | Description and Services | Target Audience | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| BecomeAnEX (‘EX’): Truth Initiative®and Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center | This program also offers 24/7 support in the EX Community from former smokers, information about addiction and medications to help with quitting, text messaging support and conversation guides for parents, and there are interactive tools and videos for quitting techniques for parents to pass along to their children such as building a quit plan. | Adults, young adults, and parents with teens who smoke, vape, dip, or chew. | Access is free but an account is required. |
| This is Quitting: the Truth Initiative | The first-of-its-kind program to help young people quit vaping, This is Quitting has helped nearly 400,000 youth and young adults on their journey to quit vaping. Learn more about how it works and the additional resources available for parents of young vapers and for adults who want to quit. | This is Quitting is tailored based on age (within 13 to 24 years old) and product usage to give teens and young adults appropriate recommendations about quitting. | Teens and young adults can join for free by texting DITCHVAPE to 88709 |
| Live Vape Free VA: Virginia Department of Health | Live Vape Free Virginia is a free service offering professional support and expert advice to parents and teens.The program educates young people about the harms of vaping and offers the support they need to quit and empowers parents to have productive conversations with their teens about the risks of vaping. | Best for teens and parents. | Services can be accessed for free on the Live Vape Free website. |
| Quit Now Virginia: Virginia Department of Health/Virginia Tobacco Control Program | This evidence-based cessation service is for those who want to quit smoking or using smokeless tobacco, nicotine and ENDs. The service offers choices of ways to receive the cessation services, to include planned one-on-one coaching sessions by phone, chat or text, in addition to coach-led group sessions. Members can also engage in an online dashboard for an upgraded experience. The counseling is offered by trained Quit Coaches; in combination with nicotine replacement therapy or medication prescribed by healthcare providers. | Best for young adults, adults, and parents. | Call 1.800.Quit Now! OR Text2Quit |
| Resources | Description and Services | Target Audience | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resources in the Hampton Roads area, including housing, food, individual and family support, health care, mental health, GED and education and much more. | Resources in the Hampton Roads area, including housing, food, individual and family support, health care, mental health, GED and education and much more. | Best for young adults, adults, and parents looking for services. | Search in the directories on the website. |
| Connection to support. Financial assistance, food pantries, medical care, mental health care, and other free or reduced-cost. | Connection to support. Financial assistance, food pantries, medical care, mental health care, and other free or reduced-cost. | Best for young adults, adults, and parents looking for services. | Search in the directories on the website. |
| The CHAS Foundation: Mental Illness Family Support | The CHAS Foundation has assembled a resource directory for families dealing with a mental health crisis. | Best for young adults, adults, and parents looking for services. | Search the directory by city, type of practice or support group in the general section. |
| Virginia Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Services: Community Services Boards (CSBs) | Virginia’s community services boards (CSBs) are the primary point of entry into the Commonwealth’s public behavioral health and developmental services system. CSBs provide treatment for mental health issues, substance use and addiction, and intellectual and developmental disabilities for adults and children. | Best for young adults, adults, and parents looking for services. | Links to local CSBs can be found on the DBHDS website. |
