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Tobacco and Vaping Use Prevention

Tobacco and vape products are harmful. The tobacco industry continues to develop, package, and advertise their products in ways that appeal to young people. Flavored products, such as flavored e-cigarettes, hookah pens, little cigars, and menthol cigarettes, play a key role in attracting youth and young adults to start smoking and increase the likelihood that they will become regular smokers.

 

The best way to avoid these dangers is to never try them.

 

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Tobacco and vape products are highly addictive. Nicotine alone can disrupt the development of your brain. Nicotine can also have long-term effects on your attention span, learning, and memory.
 
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The smoke from cigarettes and the aerosol from e-cigarettes are not only harmful to you, but they are also harmful to everyone around you.
 
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Smoking kills more Americans each year than alcohol, car accidents, murders, suicides, drugs, and fires combined.
 
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Tobacco and vape products can negatively affect every organ in your body. Smoking can cause cancer (almost anywhere in the body, not just lung cancer), heart disease, stroke, COPD, and increase the risk for tooth loss, rheumatoid arthritis, and cataracts, amongst other things.
 

Learn More

E-cigarettes and Vaping

Cigarettes

Cigars and Cigarillos

Hookah

Smokeless Products

Secondhand and Thirdhand Smoke

Resources

Please use the additional resources listed on this page to help you get involved and take action against tobacco use or for additional information.

 

Quitting Resources

Illinois Tobacco Quitline

The Illinois Tobacco Quitline is a free service to support Illinois residents on their journey to quit tobacco. Our certified Quitline counselors are trained to help you find the best strategy to move forward in your life tobacco-free. Call 1-866-QUIT-YES and visit quityes.com

My Life, My Quit

My Life, My Quit™ is the free and confidential way to quit smoking or vaping for youth. Text “Start My Quit” to 36072 and visit mylifemyquit.com .

Youth

Use the websites below to find more information on remaining or becoming tobacco-free.

  • The Real Cost  – Interact with this site to fully understand the real cost of tobacco use to you and your friends.
  • Truth  – The truth® campaign is the largest national youth-focused anti-tobacco education campaign ever.
  • Tobacco Free Kids – The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is a leading force in the fight to reduce tobacco use and its deadly toll in the United States and around the world.
  • Smokefree Teen – A new effort to help teens quit smoking using a mobile phone.
  • Know the Risks – Office of the U.S. Surgeon General “Know The Risks E-Cigarettes & Young People”
  • QuitSTART App – A free smartphone app for teens who want to quit smoking. This app takes the information you provide about your smoking history and gives you tailored tips and inspiration to help you become smokefree and live a healthier life.

Adults/Parents/Caregivers

  • Smokefree.gov – The National Cancer Institute (NCI) created Smokefree.gov to help you or someone you care about quit smoking. It is a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ efforts to reduce smoking rates in the United States.
  • This is Quitting – Parents can text QUIT to 847-278-9715 to sign up to receive text messages designed specifically for parents of vapers.
  • SmokefreeTXT – For adults in the United States who are ready to quit smoking. Text QUIT to 47848.

Schools

 

  • American Heart Association – Tobacco-Free Schools Toolkit designed to assist schools in creating a tobacco-free environment that helps prevent students from using tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, and support students who need help quitting. The toolkit includes model language for the adoption, implementation, and enforcement of a 100% tobacco-free school district policy.
  • Empower Vape-Free Youth – CDC campaign to encourage middle and high school educators to speak with students about the risks of e-cigarettes and nicotine addiction. The campaign also provides resources for educators to help students avoid or quit vaping.

Updated June 11, 2024, 10:41 AM