A new Jefferson County Public Health program is working to combat nicotine addiction in young residents.

The program, which began in June, looks to help young people who use nicotine through low-cost or free nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). This dual approach includes both replacement methods — such as patches, gum and lozenges — along with 10 private one-on-one cessation support sessions at JCPH’s clinic.

Anyone between 12 and 21 can sign up, providing cessation tools to those who might not legally be able to purchase them. Services may stretch to those up to 25-years-old if they began using nicotine younger.

“Ever since Juul hit the market, there’s always been an increase in e-cig vaping use, especially among adolescents,” Eleanor Pullan, nicotine cessation program nurse lead at JCPH, told The Denver Gazette.

“School districts have told us that they’ve had issues with kids vaping in school, and a lot of times there’s disciplinary action with that,” she continued. “If you really go down to the core issue, it’s dependence. It’s substance use disorder. These kids are going to need more support than just disciplinary action.”

Parental consent is not necessary to start, according to state law, but Pullan said that the idea is to get the users out of secrecy.

“Our intention is to not provide the services without parental involvement,” she said, adding that the program doesn’t want to have barriers of entry. “We’ll have those conversations about including the parent in the conversation.” 

The 2023 Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s biannual Healthy Kids Colorado Survey — which asked questions of more than 120,000 students from 344 schools in 46 Colorado counties — found that 9.4% of Jefferson County high school students use nicotine. Ninety-seven percent of that group use vapes.

The program is funded through the year by the $17.4 million in overall grants distributed to 42 schools, government entities and nonprofits by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office in 2024. 

The hefty grants came after a $32 million settlement the attorney general’s office received following a multistate lawsuit against Juul Labs, Inc. in 2023. The states had sued the firm for targeting young customers through marketing and misrepresenting the health risks of product usage.

“This funding will empower communities to educate our young people about the risks, implement preventive measures and provide essential treatment for those affected,” Attorney General Phil Weiser said following the grant announcement.

The JCPH also plans to do community outreach to inform youth about the dangers of nicotine.

More information and referral forms can be found at Jeffco.us.