Our Impact

Following a surge in youth vaping in 2019, the Tobacco Control Program launched a unique campaign to reach the teen audience and convey the serious risks of vaping. 

The Problem:

In 2019, youth vaping surged in the U.S. and in Vermont. Concerned that this uptick signaled a new generation of nicotine addicted individuals, the Tobacco Control Program worked quickly to create a compelling new brand and campaign designed to convey the very real risks of vaping.

The Plan:

In 2020, Unhyped, Vermont’s youth-oriented anti-vaping brand and campaign, launched four sets of messaging on digital media channels. Topics included the following:  

• The dangers of flavored vape products
• The harms of vaping to the brain and the body
• Deceptive vape industry marketing practices used to attract young users
• The signs of nicotine addiction

The Outcome:

Thanks to the Policy and Communication Evaluation (PACE VT) study, near real-time monitoring of Unhyped’s reach and impact was possible.

The results showed the following:

• Awareness of the Unhyped brand doubled over three months in 2019 (from 8.6% to 19.1%).
• As awareness of the Unhyped campaign increased from spring 2019 to fall 2019, so did the perceived risk of weekly electronic vape product (EVP) use.
• The state’s Unhyped campaign was effective in promoting short-term vaping prevention and cessation or reduction in teens and young adults.

In response to data from the PACE study, the Unhyped campaign has since adapted messaging on the association between vaping and mental health issues, along with facts on the harms of vaping any substance. For more on the Unhyped campaign, visit https://unhypedvt.com/.

To reduce high rates of tobacco use among people with mental health and substance use disorders, the Tobacco Control Program (VTCP) partnered with the University of Vermont Center On Rural Addiction (UVM CORA), a trusted organization already serving this population in rural Vermont by increasing access to substance use disorder (SUD) and tobacco use disorder treatment.

The Problem:

Individuals with mental health or substance use disorders are often overlooked for tobacco quit support, in part because smoking is generally accepted as a crutch or coping tool. Dedicated to turning the tide on this trend, the UVM CORA program assisted clinics treating individuals with SUD by providing nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and other cessation resources for those also using tobacco.

The Plan:

Using research findings that support the use of novel approaches to treating tobacco use among people with co-occurring substance use disorders, UVM CORA distributed tobacco treatment quit kits to clinics in rural settings beginning in August 2021 Quit kits, which include information materials, lip balm, chewing gum, NRT and fidget tools, can reduce the burden of tobacco use in rural populations affected by SUD by combining tobacco cessation treatment services along with SUD treatment. As of March 2023, CORA distributed 1,012 tobacco toolkits via 57 interactions.

The UVM CORA team is also working to collect quantitative data on number of kits distributed in these communities, as well as qualitative data about the usefulness of the resources and services from individuals receiving these kits.

The Outcome:

Thanks to data collected by UVM CORA, the utilization and effectiveness of these quit kits can be determined. Through partnering with UVM CORA, VTCP is expanding on-site, quit-smoking services for all Vermonters with SUD or behavioral health conditions. VTCP has begun providing similar quit kits to other organizations who serve rural Vermonters not in SUD treatment with intention to see similar results as UVM CORA on increased tobacco cessation. So far, these collaborations have proved successful in helping many Vermonters quit or reduce their tobacco use.

802quits, Vermont’s go-to resource for free tobacco treatment and support, used financial incentives to encourage high-risk Vermonters to utilize services.

The Problem:

In Vermont, the rate of tobacco use among pregnant and postpartum woman is more than twice the national average. Among Vermonters with Medicaid and those uninsured, the rate of tobacco use is nearly 3x higher than those with private insurance. In an effort to increase quit attempts among these populations, the Vermont Tobacco Program developed a program offering financial incentives to individuals who completed Quitline coaching sessions.

The Plan:

In 2012, 802Quits began offering up to $65 in quit tobacco incentives to certain high-risk individuals. Thanks to the success of this effort, as of March 2021, the Tobacco Control Program now offers:

• Up to $250 for pregnant and postpartum woman
• Up to $150 for people Medicaid members and the uninsured
• Up to $150 for people using menthol flavored tobacco products
• Up to $200 for people with mental health conditions

Currently, Vermont is the only state to offer all four incentives.

Additionally, the Tobacco Control Program deployed a robust, paid digital media campaign to raise awareness and drive enrollment among the groups of interest, and to increase health care provider referrals.

The Outcome:

Between March and June 2021, financial incentives were given to 4 pregnant or postpartum callers, 30 menthol callers and 155 Medicaid or uninsured callers.

Additionally, this effort generated these results:

• Among pregnant and postpartum callers, the Quitline saw a 75% increase in calls numbers 1-5 and a 50% increase in calls numbers 6-10.
• Comparing this period’s data to the same period in 2020, the Quitline saw an increase of 16.8% among first-time callers and 6.9% for calls numbers 2-5, which suggests incentives increased calls.

For more details on 802Quits and its cash-value incentive programs, visit https://802quits.org/

Franklin Grand Isle Tobacco Prevention Coalition is protecting the environment from cigarette litter through public education, community clean-up events and outreach to municipalities and businesses.

The Problem: Cigarettes are the most littered item in the world. Littered cigarette butts leach toxic chemicals into the land, water and air. Preventing pollution from cigarette litter has been a challenge in the U.S. for decades. Significant time and resources are needed to solve the problem.

The Plan: Franklin Grand Isle Tobacco Prevention Coalition has created a plan to address the problem of cigarette litter. The coalition has held multiple annual Butts Clean Up events in Franklin County since 2016. Volunteers are provided gloves and claw grabbers to pick up the butts discarded on streets, parks, sidewalks and landscapes. Butts are counted so concentration areas and changes can be documented. The Coalition works directly with affected municipalities on tobacco-free ordinances and connects to area businesses to increase cessation promotion, whether it is building cessation incentive initiatives, creating tobacco-free worksite policies or hosting on-site cessation workshops.

The Outcome: Nine clean up events were held in Franklin and Grand Isle Counties in 2023 resulting in 34,483 butts collected. This is nearly 10,000 fewer butts than collected in 2022 with similar volunteer numbers and coverage areas.  Of note was the low numbers of butts picked up inside community parks in Richford, Enosburg Falls, Alburgh, Swanton and St. Albans, several which have established tobacco-free parks ordinances. Tobacco-free ordinances were adopted in the remainder of the communities following butt litter clean up documentation of the litter problem. 

Post event online engagement of butt litter clean up reached individuals in 2023 through “Guess & Win” Facebook contests. 

Feedback given to several of the municipalities and businesses sparked conversations about how best to address the butt litter problem, including the risks and rewards of butt litter receptacles and outreach to apartment building owners, along with ways large employers, such as those in the St. Albans Industrial Park, can support their employees’ quit journeys.