By John Daley, KRCC, Colorado Public Radio
May 5, 2026- Sunlight hits Pikes Peak as it towers beyond the big west-facing windows of Fountain-Fort Carson High School, south of Colorado Springs.
In a classroom upstairs, a pair of students lead a discussion for a dozen or so of their peers on combating youth nicotine addiction.
Sophomore Gillianne Swarthout starts a slide show presentation, noting that 2024 data showed 1.6 million U.S. students vaped.
“Nearly 90% use flavored cigarettes. More than 25% vape daily. Pretty much they’re addicted, right?”
The session is part of the school’s inaugural Youth Voice Summit: From Vision to Action. It’s the brainchild of the 50-member Youth Advisory Council — 40 students, 10 adults and 2 facilitators.
“I guess we’ve made it,” said Montina Romero, the Fountain-Fort Carson School District’s deputy superintendent, noting the big crowd from around the state seated at tables in the lunchroom. “We have about 215 youth and about 70 adults.”
Settlement with JUUL
The push was launched with funds from the state’s $32 million settlement with Juul Labs Inc., the e-cigarette company that helped spark a nationwide epidemic of teen vaping.
“I was like, ‘Oh, well, I have personal experience seeing kids in my own classes vape.’ I want to help prevent this,” said Kenzie Litzelman, a freshman and a member of the YAC. They call it the “yack.”
“Right now, our focus is vaping prevention,” said senior Sheena Beeman. “With our structure, we hope to branch out and target other student issues as they come up.”
The pair was joined in the cafeteria by another senior, Audrey Payton. She said another issue on their horizon: nicotine pouches, like Zyn, made by tobacco giant Philip Morris, which are especially popular with guys.
“They’re finding it easier to just do the Zyns. What they call it, a lip pillow, so they can just put it in their lip and nobody notices it,” Payton said.
Vaping rates have dropped
Romero helped lead the push to apply for a $131,000, three-year grant. She thinks vaping isn’t as prevalent as some might believe in her district, which has a lot of military families. And the youth council agrees.
“What’s been so great about this youth advisory council is the voice of students around who’s not vaping has now become louder. So the perception has changed,” she said.
The district’s efforts come as vaping rates have dropped in recent years nationally, and in Colorado, after a concerted, multi-factor community response.
In 2017, Colorado led the nation in youth vaping, the most of 37 states surveyed for the use of electronic cigarettes among high school students–27 percent said they used an electronic product in the last 30 days. By 2023, the year with the most recent data, the number had fallen to below 9 percent.
The vaping rates for students in Fountain-Fort Carson School District are even lower, according to its own recent survey: about 5 percent report that they have vaped in the last 6 months.
Many Coloradans who vaped as teens continued when they became young adults. Adult vaping rates rose, driven by a sharp increase among young, college-age residents, those 18 to 24, according to 2020-22 data from the state health department.
Slogan, training posters and PSAs
Students on the council came up with a slogan: “Know the Risks, No to Vaping.” They participated in health fairs, 5Ks, training and national conferences and made prevention posters.
The students produced a couple of PSAs. “They crave the buzz again and again,” a narrator says in one, which is posted online. “You can stop, and we will be here for you.”
The group intentionally doesn’t ask student members about their use, to avoid putting them in an awkward position. And in their grant application, they took an innovative approach. Romero said they pay students for their work on the Youth Advisory Council, $150 a semester.
“It’s definitely a motivating factor for students,” said Gillianne, who noted she was never into vaping, but friends were, so she joined the group.
“It definitely gives me a stronger ability to help the people around me quit vaping and also learn the risks and whatnot,” she said. “I just really wanted to help those people that are struggling.”
Finding an audience
Gillianne has even talked about it with her dad, who’s tried vaping to quit cigarettes.
“He might not take me very seriously. But I’m hoping that as I mentioned it more and more, he is going to start realizing that I am being serious about it and that this a dangerous substance to be addicted to.”
Another student who signed up with the group is freshman Kaiden Vink. He said he’s seen family members struggle with alcohol and cigarettes and kids he knows get hooked on vaping. He’s taking what he’s learned in the YAC to make the case to his peers.
“When they quit, they see it in their friends, they get their friends to quit, and it’s just kind of like a domino effect,” he said.
The district’s survey from last year showed fewer students now think it’s OK to drink, smoke, vape or use other drugs.
Vink said he thinks his classmates are listening. “I’m trying to work with one person at a time. And when I work with one, they’ll try and work with someone else too. Be like, ‘hey, this is how I quit.’ Let me help you.”
‘Sky’s the limit’
Consuelo Trent-Murray, a special education teacher at Carson Middle School, said she’s been inspired by students’ creativity and determination.
“They’re taking a very big, courageous step,” she said. “Being willing to stand up and talk about something like this, knowing that they may go back to their school and someone’s like, ‘Oh, well, you think you’re so cool?’”
Social studies teacher Becky Bates, an adviser to the advisory council, said it’s powerful to see students blossom into school leaders. The teachers are following their lead.
“And then sky’s the limit really from here,” she said.
A group from Falcon High School called SWAT, Students Working Against Tobacco, attended the summit, joining the session on combating nicotine addiction.
“Our group is pretty new,” said teacher Samantha Cates. “But our goal is really to just try to have those conversations with friends and getting people to feel more comfortable standing against it instead of just going with the flow.”
To headline the event, students brought in a keynote speaker, NFL player Rashad Wisdom, a safety with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He encouraged a crowd of students in the auditorium to develop their self-confidence. “You have to be able to be comfortable with yourself and be confident in who you are and what you’re able to do,” he said.
Millions from the settlement are funding programs statewide
The Juul settlement has paid for local programs ranging from bilingual cessation to rural prevention to developing healthy coping skills.
Funding has gone to 49 of Colorado’s 64 counties, according to the attorney general’s office.
“By investing in these organizations, we are taking a critical step toward protecting our youth from the dangers of vaping,” said Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, a Democrat, who is now running for governor, when the first grants were awarded. “This funding will empower communities to educate our young people about the risks, implement preventive measures, and provide essential treatment for those affected.”
The multistate settlement with Juul totaled $462 million; Colorado received nearly $32 million.
The Combating Youth Vaping in Colorado Grant, administered by the Department of Law, amounts to $6 million from the settlement funds, according to spokesman Lawrence Pacheco. A grant collaboration with the state’s education department is awarding about $11 million.
“Our goal is to give local educators the tools they need to address the health impacts of vaping on our youth,” said Colorado Education Commissioner Susana Córdova when the grants were announced.
Health and well-being grants
Another $5 million is going to grants to schools and community organizations to promote youth mental health and wellbeing across the state.
The rest probably will be determined by the next attorney general, Pacheco said.
“Juul Labs remains committed to responsibly serving the millions of adults who smoke, while working alongside regulators and stakeholders to prevent underage use of all tobacco and nicotine products,” said a spokesman for Juul Labs, in an email.
He said recent national survey data show youth use of Juul products is down sharply, and the youth vapor market is dominated by “illegal disposable products smuggled into the country.”
E-cigarette lawsuit
In 2020, Colorado’s attorney general sued Juul over its marketing practices.
A probe found the corporation advertised directly to young people, while misrepresenting the health risks, Weiser said at the time. Juul targeted “cool kids” in ads and social media campaigns on sites like Instagram and YouTube. It used “brand ambassadors” to distribute free samples to young people at convenience stores. It hired social media influencers to promote its products, aiming to introduce e-cigarettes to young people.
Vaping took off nationwide, and “Juuling” became a common expression and habit for many young people.
Weiser said the company was “very aware of the virality of social media, aware of the norms of social media. Juul identified influences that young people would pay attention to and set up what I’ll call negative social norms. Juul or Juuling is cool. That was the norm.”
Under the agreement, Juul is prohibited from using those marketing tactics in the future.
