DHS Awards Grants from JUUL Settlement Funds to Prevent and Treat Vaping by Youth and Young Adults

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) has awarded 13 grants worth $830,000 over the next two years to community organizations throughout Wisconsin to help address the youth and young adult vaping epidemic. Funding for the Vaping Prevention and Treatment Initiatives (VPTI) grants comes from current payments to Wisconsin as part of a $14.7 million multiyear JUUL Settlement announced by the Wisconsin Department of Justice in September 2022.

The DHS Tobacco Prevention and Control Program hosted virtual statewide listening sessions and online surveys in summer 2023 to gather input from residents about vaping. The data collected helped drive the decision to support local organizations addressing the vaping epidemic, along with statewide efforts already in progress.

“The concerns and ideas shared by Wisconsinites show the impact vaping has in communities across the state,” said DHS Secretary-designee Kirsten Johnson. “Through these grant awards, local organizations will protect teens and young adults in their communities from the dangers of nicotine addiction.”

The money will be used for community- and school-based programs to prevent vaping and help teens and young adults quit, for research on vaping prevention, and ways to decrease access to or the use of vape products. All efforts will be directed toward teens and young adults up to age 24.

“E-cigarettes continue to put the health of kids in Wisconsin at risk,” said Attorney General Josh Kaul. “As these grants show, the funds we’ve secured from JUUL are supporting efforts to combat the vaping epidemic.”

The following organizations received Vaping Prevention and Treatment Initiatives grants and are funded through 2025:

• American Lung Association
• Boys and Girls Club of Lac Courte Oreilles
• Elkhorn Area School District
• Family Services of Southern WI and Northern IL (Youth 2 Youth 4 Change)
• Great Rivers United Way Better Together
• Hope Council, Kenosha
• Jackson County Health Department
• Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan
• Marathon County Health Department
• Northeastern Wisconsin Area Health Education Center (NEWAHEC)
• Oregon Area Cares Community Coalition–Village of Oregon
• Wisconsin Safe and Healthy Schools Center (WISH)
• Youth of Burnett County Prevention Coalition

Find more information about JUUL Settlement funding on the DHS website.

Wisconsinites can access the free Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line by texting READY to 34191. Residents ages 13 and up can also reach the Quit Line 24/7 by calling 800-QUIT-NOW (800-784-8669) or by visiting WiQuitLine.org to learn more. Teens ages 13 to 17 who specifically want to quit vaping can text VAPEFREE to 873373 for free help via text. The American Indian Quit Line at 888-7AI-QUIT (888-724-7848) offers free culturally tailored support for Indigenous people who want to quit commercial tobacco.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.