Executive Summary
Butte County Public Health Department requests $600,000 to support a three year Tobacco Prevention and Environmental Health Initiative. This comprehensive program is designed to serve 1,200 youth and 600 adults within Butte County through a multi faceted approach involving smoking cessation services, school based prevention education, community air-quality monitoring, and public awareness campaigns. By integrating localized health initiatives with broader environmental advocacy, this project seeks to significantly reduce the long-term impact of tobacco use and poor air quality on the community’s lung health.
The need for this initiative is evident in the persistent presence of tobacco use and environmental health risks within Butte County. Students and families continue to face exposure to nicotine products, vaping culture, and air quality challenges that directly impact lung health and long term well being. Youth in particular remain vulnerable to targeted marketing and social influences that normalize tobacco use, while adults struggle with cessation in environments where access to consistent support may be limited. Without a coordinated local response that combines prevention, cessation, and environmental health education, these challenges will continue to contribute to preventable disease and reduced quality of life in the community.
This three-year project will:
- Deliver smoking cessation services to 600 adults and school based prevention education to 1,200 youth to directly combat local tobacco use rates.
- Establish and operate community air quality monitoring systems to promote clean air and environmental health advocacy.
- Launch public awareness campaigns designed to educate the community on lung health and the dangers of nicotine products.
- Coordinate with stakeholder agencies and educational partners to ensure the initiative reaches the most impacted demographics in the county.
The primary outcomes of this initiative include a 20 percent reduction in youth vaping rates and a 15 percent increase in smoking cessation among participating adults. To ensure these goals are met, the department will conduct a comprehensive evaluation using quantitative data such as participation records and health surveys, alongside qualitative feedback from community stakeholders. This evaluation process will involve structured oversight and data analysis to assess program effectiveness and guide continuous improvement.
The Butte County Public Health Department is well positioned to lead this effort drawing on its experience in community health improvement, environmental health initiatives and chronic disease prevention. The departments background in policy development, research and outreach ensures the initiative will be both scientifically grounded and culturally responsive to local needs.
The total project cost is $900,000 with the $600,000 request representing exactly two thirds of the budget. The remaining $300,000 match will be secured through a combination of in kind personnel contributions, a cash match from a local healthcare foundation, and state level grants dedicated to tobacco education. This diversified funding strategy strengthens sustainability and demonstrates strong local and regional investment in the initiative.
Tobacco Prevention and Environmental Health Initiative in Butte County
Methods
The Butte County Public Health Department will collaborate with 12 school districts in Butte County to implement an evidence-based tobacco and vaping prevention program to 1,200 students (12-18 years old) in three years (400 students at a time). The curriculum will be incorporated into the current health education courses and will work on the health hazards of using tobacco, the hazards of vaping, media literacy, and refusal skills. The educational process will occur within the academic year through classroom environment on tutorial basis, group discussion lessons and multimedia teaching materials.
Train School Health Educators: The school health educators will be trained a total of 20 by the end of Year 1 to have a smooth and consistent program implementation. Public health professionals will provide training sessions, which will involve curriculum instructions, strategies that engage the youth, and ways of maintaining program fidelity. Teachers will also have access to continuous technical training and training every year.
Distribute Prevention Resource Kits: The program will manufacture and distribute 1,200 age-specific prevention resource kits per year to the participating students. The kits will consist of educational cards on tobacco and vaping danger, techniques to overcome peer influence, and resources about local health services. The materials will be culture based and effort to involve youth in schools and homes.
Conduct Community Awareness Events: These will be done in schools, community centres and in open fields of the county. The health risks of tobacco use, vaping impacts, prevention and cessation materials will be addressed. The outreach will include organization presentations, information booths and collaboration with other organizations in the area.
Provide Adult Smoking Cessation Services: The program will recruit a total of 600 smokers aged adults (200 a year) into a structured smoking cessation program which involves group and individual counseling sessions. There will be two licensed cessation counselors whose work full time will involve conducting weekly sessions aimed at behavior change, relapse prevention and support in the long run. They will provide services at convenient community centers as well as online to gain access to the rural communities.
Distribute Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT): During the three years of the project, 300 participants of low income and adults will be given free nicotine replacement therapy (NRT)-patches, gum, or lozenges. Distribution will occur according to the eligibility criteria and clinical judgment by cessation counselors. There will also be education to the participants on how to use them to have maximum effectiveness.
Establish a Cessation Referral Network: At the close of Year 1, the program will develop a countywide referral network between program participants and healthcare providers and the California Smokers Helpline. This network will provide continuity care and other support services outside of the program.
Install Air Quality Monitoring Systems: With environmental health agencies, ten air quality monitoring stations will be established within the whole of Butte County, by the end of Year 1. These stations will be equipped with real-time air pollution information, specifically that of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and will be well-placed in high-risk and underserved regions.
Develop a Public Air Quality Dashboard: In the initial six months of the project, an online dashboard will be publicly available, showing real time air quality data. The system will have alert systems to warn the residents whenever there are dangerous air conditions and offer information on protective measures.
Conduct Environmental Health Education Campaigns: These will be done in schools, community centers and in open fields of the county. The health risks of tobacco use, vaping impacts, prevention and cessation materials will be addressed. The outreaches will include organization presentations, information booths and collaboration with other organizations in the area.
Evaluation
Outcome Evaluation: The program will evaluate its effectiveness by scoring it based on clearly established outcomes in line with the program goals. In the context of preventing vaping among youth, a 20 percent decrease in self-report vaping rates among the participating students will be reached in Year 3 using pre- and post-program surveys. Also, no less than 80 percent of respondent students will exhibit more awareness of the hazards of using tobacco products according to the post-intervention measures.
In the case of adult cessation services, the program seeks to increase a 15-percent sustained smoking cessation among participants, which may be characterized by six-months abstinence by Year 3. At least 70% of registered participants will undergo at least four counseling sessions as will be recorded in terms of attendance. In the case of environmental health initiatives, the program will ensure that the community becomes 25% more aware of air quality issues by the end of the Year 3, which will be measured through the community survey. Also, there will be no more than a 90 percent duration of all air quality monitoring stations in the project.
Process Evaluation: Process evaluation will be established to make sure that every activity of the program is implemented as planned. Program personnel will keep close records of attendance such as the amount of students served, adults utilizing cessation support and those in attendance at community events. Teachers will fill in fidelity checklists in order to ascertain the consistency of the implementation of the prevention curriculum in all schools. Semiannual progress reports will be made and sent to the funding agency stating the progress made on each process objective. These reports will have data on program application, participants involvement and service provision results. To guarantee accountability and transparency, financial reports will also be incorporated.
Students, adult participants, and members of society will be given surveys based on their satisfaction with program services and what can be improved to do so. Also, the air quality dashboard statistics such as the usage analytics and response to alerts will be examined to determine how the community uses available environmental health resources. The long-term outcomes will be measured by conducting follow-up at specific times, such as six months after the cessation participants, and to follow up on the outcomes in the longer perspective. Evaluation data will all be summarized in reports on an annual level to inform future public health legislation and make improvements on the program.
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