ANTI-VAPING CAMPAIGN

The sharp rise in the use of vaping products by young people is a national crisis. And, a crisis right here in Beverly. The number of youth smoking e-cigarettes doubled last year to 3.6 million. About 40% of Massachusetts high schoolers have tried vaping.  These are not just statistics to us. They represent the future lives and health of our youth. Vaping is a ticking time bomb that we have to address now.

Recognizing that the Lutz’s mission is to encourage and support educational and healthcare initiatives in the treatment and prevention of disease in the Beverly community, this public health threat is one that the Foundation had to take on and had to move quickly to curb.

Starting in April 2019, the Foundation launched an awareness raising campaign to address vaping among youth. The campaign is rooted in behavioral insights gathered from interviewing local teens and social listening

With a series of comedic scenarios, the “Get the Vape off Your Back” campaign shows the heavy burden vaping takes on teenagers’ lives and the interruptions it brings to social interactions. Aimed at young people ages 13-18, the films focus on the controlling nature of the vape. The films are the first part a multi-pronged anti-vaping campaign, which also includes the development of anti-vaping intervention tools that are informed by community advisors and address vaping at the interpersonal level.

The Foundation is working with a research partner to capture digital metrics as well as behavioral and attitudinal measures for the duration of the campaign, which runs through 2020. At the end of the campaign, a full evaluation of its impact will be conducted.