Prevention Curriculum
An evidence-informed prevention curriculum includes strategies and practices that research has found to be effective in preventing tobacco use.
TUPE Approved Curricula
CATCH My Breath
CATCH My Breath is a peer-reviewed, evidence-based youth vaping prevention program developed by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health. The program provides up-to-date information to teachers, parents, and health professionals to equip students with the knowledge and skills they need to make informed decisions about the use of e-cigarettes.
Sequence: 4-lesson curriculum for each grade level
Grades: Upper elementary (5/6), middle (7/8), and high school (9-12) students
Keepin' It REAL (kiR)
Keepin’ It REAL (kiR) is a scientifically proven substance use prevention and social and emotional competency enhancing program designed to focus on the competencies linked to preventing substance use and abuse. Students learn how to assess risk, value their perceptions and feelings, and communicate effectively.
Sequence: 10-lesson curriculum
Grades: Middle school students (6-8)
Model Smoking Prevention Program
Model Smoking Prevention Program (MSPP) is an evidence-based, comprehensive program proven to help prevent kids from using cigarettes, tobacco, and alternative tobacco products such as snuff, e-cigarettes, and hookahs. Students learn about resisting peer pressure, and ways to promote tobacco prevention community-wide through the involvement of parents/guardians.
Sequence: 6-Lesson curriculum
Grades: Upper elementary (5/6), and middle school (7/8) students
Project ALERT
Project ALERT is a substance abuse prevention program that is proven to reduce the experimental and continued use of alcohol, commercial tobacco, and other drugs. Through a series of comprehensive lessons, Project ALERT motivates students against drug use, cultivates new non-use attitudes and beliefs, and equips teens with the skills and strategies they’ll use to resist drugs.
Sequence: 11-lesson curriculum (7th grade) and 3 booster lessons (8th grade)
Grades: Middle school students (7/8)
Stanford Tobacco Prevention Toolkit
The Tobacco Prevention Toolkit from Stanford University's REACH Lab is a theory- and evidence-based set of curriculums and resource created by educators, parents, youth, and researchers aimed at preventing elementary, middle, and high school students' use of commercial tobacco and nicotine products. Each lesson includes slides, activities, worksheets, Kahoot quizzes, resources, and other materials to help empower adolescents to make healthier decisions concerning tobacco use, including e-cigarettes.
Sequence: You and Me, Together Vape-free curriculum: 6-lessons
Grades: Elementary (3-6), middle (6-8), and high school (9-12) students
The Real Cost of Vaping
The Real Cost of Vaping is sponsored by Scholastic and the FDA, who have developed a set of lessons, resources, and videos to address youth vaping. Students will analyze informational text, collect and present data, and evaluate marketing messages.
Sequence: 3-lesson curriculum for each grade level plus two video lessons
Grades: Middle (6-8) and high school (9-12) students
California Health Education and TUPE
The Health Education Content Standards for California Public Schools, Kindergarten through Grade twelve, guide the essential skills and knowledge that students should have at each grade level across six health education content areas, one of which is Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs. California students learn skills identified in the Standards to increase their Health Literacy.
Health literacy is the ability to find, understand, and use health information to make well-informed decisions.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) defines it in two parts: personal health literacy (an individual’s skills) and organizational health literacy (how organizations make information clear and accessible). It goes beyond reading to include interpreting instructions, weighing risks, and navigating health systems—a shared responsibility between people and organizations.
California Health Education Framework
The Health Education Framework for California Public Schools, Kindergarten through Grade Twelve, provides an update to curricular resources that support high-quality health education instruction. The Framework is designed to help teachers and administrators create a curriculum that is standards-based and therefore, anchored in skill development.
In addition to the guidance for teachers and administrators on standards implementation, the Framework includes new chapters on assessment, access and equity, instructional strategies, and professional learning—all designed to assist teachers and administrators in furthering the collective goal of creating healthy students throughout the state of California.
