Davis Joint Unified School District

Tobacco Use Prevention Education (TUPE)

The purpose of the Tobacco Use Prevention Education (TUPE) program is to reduce youth tobacco use by helping young people make healthful tobacco-related decisions through tobacco-specific, research-validated educational instruction and activities that build knowledge as well as social skills and youth development assets.

Youth and Tobacco Use Statistics

If cigarette smoking continues at the current rate among youth in this country, 5.6 million of today’s Americans younger than 18 will die early from a smoking-related illness. That’s about 1 of every 13 Americans aged 17 years or younger who are alive today.

• Tobacco product use is started and established primarily during adolescence.
• Nearly 9 out of 10 adults who smoke cigarettes daily first try smoking by age 18, and 99% first try smoking by age 26.
  
  • Each day in the U.S., about 1,600 youth smoke their first cigarette and nearly 200 youth start smoking every day.
• Flavorings in tobacco products can make them more appealing to youth.
  
  • In 2021, 80.2% of high school students and 74.6% of middle school students who used tobacco products in the past 30 days reported using a flavored tobacco product during that time.
  • In 2021, 85.8% of high school students and 79.2% of middle school students who used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days reported using a flavored e-cigarette during that time.

Content source: Office on Smoking and Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion