Power of Putnam has recently had the opportunity to partner with the Putnam County Health Department in their new Vaping Prevention Diversion Program! Students from Putnam County middle and high schools are referred to the 4-week program. Two curriculums are taught and used: Prevention Plus Wellness and INDEPTH. The community and coalition members who have trained in each program teach these.

Prevention Plus Wellness has three sections taught to the youth and parents: Vaping, Marijuana, and Parent. Each section is organized to teach youth and parents about the harms of smoking and how they can adopt a healthy lifestyle that does not involve smoking.

Intervention for Nicotine Dependence: Education, Prevention, Tobacco and Health (INDEPTH) is a new, convenient alternative, developed by the American Lung Association, to suspension or citation that helps schools and communities address the teen vaping problem in a more supportive way. Instead of solely focusing on punitive measures, INDEPTH is an interactive program that teaches students and parents about nicotine dependence, establishing healthy alternatives, and how to kick the unhealthy addiction that got them in trouble in the first place.

So far, they have successfully provided the program to 2 groups of students and parents with over 30 graduates! They are now in the second week of their third round of youth and parents and look forward to that number increasing by the end of the year!

Sessions are also being planned for 2023.