Nicotine Free: Empowering Nebraska Youth to Choose a Lifetime of Health

• Vape Free Schools Initiative - If you’re an educator or community member committed to helping students navigate the youth vaping epidemic, we have programs to help you in your efforts. Participating in the American Lung Association Vape-Free Schools Initiative means that you are a leader in supporting students affected by tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, offering clear guidance, education, and cessation. Completion of the INDEPTH or N-O-T Facilitator Course training and Vape-Free Schools Initiative Policy Assessment Course will allow you to be recognized by the American Lung Association as a member of the Vape-Free Schools Initiative. 
• INDEPTH: An Alternative to Teen Nicotine Suspension or Citation | American Lung Association – The Intervention for Nicotine Dependence: Education, Prevention, Tobacco and Health (INDEPTH) is a convenient alternative to suspension or citation program that helps schools and communities address the teen vaping problem in a more supportive way.
• N-O-T: Not On Tobacco—Evidence-Based Teen Smoking and Vaping Cessation Program | American Lung Association – The N-O-T program is designed with teenagers aged 14-19 in mind and addresses issues that are specifically important to them. 

Contact Taylor Hendricks to learn more about these programs. [email protected] | 402-875-7630

We are excited to offer webinars for parents and other adults who work with youth to help them better understand the vaping epidemic and the effects it has on youth. In these sessions we will cover topics including current vaping trends, mental and physical health effects of vaping, and strategies to talk to your youth about this topic. To register, visit the links below. 

• March 31, 2026, at 4:00 pm
• April, 2026, at 8:00 pm

• Commercial Tobacco Facts | American Lung Association – Find out how smoking and other tobacco products affect your health, what’s in a commercial cigarette, how commercial tobacco use and the tobacco industry impact specific populations, and how to keep kids from starting. 
• E-Cigarettes & Vaping | American Lung Association – Learn more about e-cigarettes and vaping 
• Tobacco Basics (lung.training) - A free one-hour online course consisting of five modules designed to lay a foundation of understanding the toll of tobacco use in the U.S. 

We are excited to offer webinars for parents and other adults who work with youth to help them better understand the vaping epidemic and the effects it has on youth. In these sessions we will cover topics including current vaping trends, mental and physical health effects of vaping, and strategies to talk to your youth about this topic. To register, visit the links below. 

• March 31, 2026, at 4:00 pm
• April 30, 2026, at 8:00 pm

Tobacco 21 is the common name for the federal law signed on December 20, 2019, that raised the minimum age for purchasing commercial tobacco products from 18 to 21 years of age. Passage of this law at the federal level superseded state laws that allowed commercial tobacco products to be sold to individuals under the age of 21. Tobacco 21 made it illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 21 regardless of a state’s legal sale age.   

On August 15, 2020, the governor of Nebraska signed the Tobacco21 bill and made Nebraska’s law consistent with federal law. This change can help protect the lives of Nebraska youth who will die prematurely from smoking. It can also save them from a lifetime of addiction and health concerns.  

The passage of Tobacco 21 in Idaho means that the federal law and the Nebraska state law are now the same. You should know that there is no grandfather clause for youth who were 19 or 20 when the law passed. 20-year-olds can no longer legally purchase tobacco products, even if they could do so before the law was passed. 

Many teens buy their vapes and tobacco products from other youth who are also under 21. Tobacco 21 makes that illegal. Penalties for selling to anyone under 21 include a fine and potential misdemeanor. Talk to your kids about this today and make sure they understand the law. 

• Commercial Tobacco Facts | American Lung Association – Find out how smoking and other tobacco products affect your health, what’s in a commercial cigarette, how commercial tobacco use and the tobacco industry impact specific populations, and how to keep kids from starting. 
• E-Cigarettes & Vaping | American Lung Association – Learn more about e-cigarettes and vaping 
• Tobacco Basics (lung.training) - A free one-hour online course including five learning modules designed to lay the foundation in understanding the toll of tobacco use in the U.S.