Health
What is Escape Vapes?
National data continue to indicate a rise in vaping among all youth, particularly among young people who have never smoked traditional combustible cigarettes. Studies have consistently indicated that young people perceive vaping as less harmful than traditional cigarettes and that they are either unaware of the potential health risk or underestimate their risk. Escape Vapes is a suite of programs from the Alabama Cooperative Extension System that focus on educating young people and adults about the risk of vaping.
We help young people…
- Understand vaping devices, as well as the physical and mental health risks of using these devices
- Gain awareness of the strategies that manufacturers and marketing agencies use to increase use among youth
- Strategize how to refuse an offer to vape, as well as resources to help youth quit
We educate parents, guardians, and adults who work with young people on…
- Identifying vaping devices
- The risks associated with vaping
- The laws related to vaping devices
Programs
Alabama Extension’s Escape Vapes programs are built upon four main pillars: education, prevention, intervention, and cessation.
- Under education, Escape Vapes: Empowering Adults is a vaping education course that teaches parents and adults who work with youth about electronic cigarettes.
- Under prevention, the Escape Vapes vaping prevention course uses lessons and activities from the Stanford University Tobacco Prevention Toolkit.
- Under intervention, Escape Vapes: Healthy Futures, an Alternative to Suspension is a program for first offenders to attend instead of suspension or expulsion.
- Under cessation, the Not On Tobacco (N-O-T) program is an evidence-based curriculum that helps youth quit nicotine products for good
For more information on these programs, visit the Escape Vapes Programming web page at www.aces.edu. To schedule an educational workshop in your community, contact one of the Alabama Extension human sciences regional agents in the table below.
Human Sciences Specialists and Regional Agents for Escape Vapes
| Agent | Counties | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Adrienne Duke-Marks | Statewide | Directory |
| Marilyn Agee-Carroll | Barbour, Bullock, Coffee, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston, and Pike | Directory |
| Synithia Flowers | Autauga, Bibb, Chilton, Elmore, Jefferson, Lowndes, Montgomery, Shelby, and St. Clair | Directory |
| Tera Glenn | Choctaw, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Marengo, Perry, Pickens, Sumter, Tuscaloosa, and Wilcox | Directory |
| Helen Jones | Autauga, Bibb, Chilton, Elmore, Jefferson, Lowndes, Montgomery, Shelby, and St. Clair | Directory |
| Regina Meadows | Calhoun, Chambers, Clay, Cleburne, Coosa, Lee, Macon, Randolph, Russell, Talladega, and Tallapoosa | Directory |
| Alexia Mingo Simmons | Baldwin, Butler, Clarke, Conecuh, Escambia, Mobile, Monroe, and Washington | Directory |
| Elaine Softley | Colbert, Fayette, Franklin, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Marion, Morgan, Walker, and Winston | Directory |
| Meaghanne Thompson | Blount, Cherokee, Cullman, DeKalb, Etowah, Jackson, Madison, and Marshall | Directory |
Resources
Alabama Extension has a host of science-based educational resources that support the Escape Vapes programs. Find a link to these resources below.