Topic: Youth Tobacco and E-cigarette Prevention

Hands Off Tobacco and E-Cigarettes! is a tobacco and e-cigarette use prevention program designed for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing youth updated this past year to include information about e-cigarettes, hookah, and cigarillos and innovative activities to engage Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing youth, including the use of social media. We implement our classroom-based program with middle school students and high school freshmen during health or science class at our partner school sites. The Hands-Off Tobacco and E-Cigarettes! curriculum activities consist of eight, 45 minute sessions that include information on e-cigarettes and tobacco products, group activities, and role playing. The current middle school health or science teacher at each school who were trained by UCLA staff to implement the curriculum conducts the sessions in American Sign Language.

Research Team:
Burton Cowgill, PhD
Barbara Berman, PhD
Catherine Crespi, PhD
Alison Herrmann, PhD

Community Partners: California School for the Deaf Riverside, California School for the Deaf Fremont, the Orange County Department of Education Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Program

Study Population: Middle school students and 9th graders at school sites

Funding Source: Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program; Project # T31IR1438

  • Publications:
    Cowgill BO, Herrmann A, Richardson J, Guthmann D, McKee M, Malzhuhn M, Berman B. Understanding e-cigarette knowledge and use among Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing students and the need for tailored prevention programming: A qualitative study. American Annals of the Deaf. 2020:165(3):335-352.
  • Herrmann AK, Cowgill B, Guthmann D, Richardson J, Chang LC, Crespi CM, Glenn E, McKee M, & Berman B. Developing and Evaluating a School-Based Tobacco and E-Cigarette Prevention Program for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Youth. Health Promotion Practice. 2023;0(0). doi:10.1177/15248399221151180