Project Filter: Youth in Schools & Commercial Tobacco

Lindsey DeBoer, MPH, CHES®

State Vaping Coordinator, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Division of Public Health

Lindsey DeBoer serves as the State Vaping Coordinator for Project Filter, Idaho’s Tobacco Prevention and Control Program within the Department of Health and Welfare. Lindsey has worked in this role since July 2020, focusing on decreasing the prevalence of youth vaping in Idaho and promoting cessation through education, community outreach, and counter-marketing. Lindsey has developed an Idaho Tobacco- and Vape-Free Schools Toolkit that will soon be made available for schools and community partners. This toolkit will highlight available resources to promote tobacco-and vape-free schools, including model policies, alternatives to suspension, local cessation resources, and educational materials.

Lindsey DeBoer is a Certified Health Education Specialist and received her MPH from the University of Arizona’s Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.

Cas Adams, MHE, CHES®

Health Equity Specialist, Project Filter

Cas Adams (she/her) is the Health Equity Specialist for Project Filter, Idaho’s Tobacco Prevention and Control Program.  Cas has been working in commercial tobacco prevention for five years and has gained a variety of experiences and knowledge related to this topic.  Her passions include decreasing and eliminating tobacco related health disparities amongst communities most targeted by the tobacco community through education, community outreach, and community-led interventions.  She believes that we should do nothing for a community without the community.

Cas Adams is a Certified Health Education Specialist and received her Masters of Health Education from Idaho State University in 2016.

About Project Filter

Project Filter is Idaho’s Tobacco Prevention and Control Program.  The four main goals of Project Filter are 1. Support quitting of commercial tobacco products and vaping amongst youth and adults 2. Prevent the initiation of commercial tobacco products and vaping among youth and young adults 3. Decrease and eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke and secondhand aerosol and 4. Decrease and eliminate commercial tobacco related health disparities.  Project Filter differentiates commercial tobacco from the sacred and ceremonial tobacco use of many Indigenous tribes.

About the Presentation

In this presentation Lindsey and Cas will walk through the presentation Project Filter provides to youth in schools about commercial tobacco and vaping and will then discuss trends and information for parents, guardians, and educators.  We will walk through the various projects Project Filter is working on to prevent youth vaping and the resources we provide to youth, schools, healthcare providers, and others to support youth prevention and cessation.