What West Virginia teens lost when CDC cuts ended their fight against Big Tobacco ‘What am I going to do from here on out?’ one youth activist asks By Sarah ToddDec. 4, 2025

https://www.statnews.com/2025/12/04/impact-cdc-cuts-tobacco-activist-story-american-science-shattered-series/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8tRE2KaNzbZ-ML7Aimf4vRdtVNnHK4EKoU4vMSZgO67qFvHKDloSbiKOkG-4dXCFGM4PFW4YvekQbMH6iQRgWyJ4kB0w&_hsmi=397788329&utm_content=397788329&utm_source=hs_email Analyzing the success of a CA anti-tobacco program California students whose schools operate tobacco-use prevention education programs (TUPE, if you will) use tobacco at significantly lower rates than students at schools without such programming. A study published today in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that 6.5% of TUPE students used tobacco compared to 8.1% of other students. That gap persisted with vaping: 5.4% of TUPE students vaped while 7% of others did. Researchers analyzed 2019-2020 state survey data from more than 160,000 students. At all schools, students had similar levels of exposure to tobacco-related advertising. But TUPE students got access to education on tobacco, intervention and cessation services, peer counseling, and more. California pays for the program with a steep tax on packs of cigarettes, vapes, and other tobacco products. But similar programs in other states have been cut after losing CDC funding. Revisit Sarah Todd’s story on one West Virginia teen and how much her own state initiative meant to her. California's School-Based Tobacco Use Prevention Program After Proposition 56: Results From a Statewide Evaluation https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1054139X25008146?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8aGmfsSWkq7ZkSnk0LPPjbPgbJRtXU6BKKNKcGpJmaju7WsNwivf3rOSTIRvypntwQedax2Gyz-g5IQuSSK3APDLpdiA&_hsmi=397788329&utm_content=397788329&utm_source=hs_email