Los Alamos students lead new peer campaign to curb vaping and nicotine use

Los Alamos Public Schools is testing a simple but consequential bet: if the message about vaping comes from students instead of adults, more teenagers may actually listen. Six Los Alamos High School students, Charles Austin, Madalyn Baily, Evan Beveridge, Javaya Davison, Isabella Jaramillo and Samatha Kranthijanya, were chosen from more than 30 applicants for the district’s new Youth Nicotine Prevention Peer Ambassador Program.

The pilot was built by the Los Alamos Public Schools prevention program, with support from Constellation Consulting and funding and partnership from the New Mexico Department of Health’s Nicotine Use Prevention and Control program. It gives the students a direct role in shaping prevention work inside Los Alamos High School and, eventually, Los Alamos Middle School.

Before they began outreach, the ambassadors received team-building training and instruction on the health effects of nicotine, vaping and tobacco use, along with evidence-based prevention strategies. Kristine Coblentz and Sylvia Diehl, both connected to the school prevention program, were identified with the project, underscoring that the effort is student-led but not student-alone.

The ambassadors then moved quickly from training to action. They hosted a focus group to learn what their peers already understood about nicotine and where the biggest misconceptions remained. They also interviewed school staff to better understand the campus environment, then turned that information into outreach during lunch periods with interactive tables and a spinning-wheel activity designed to start casual conversations about nicotine risks.

Their message spread beyond the cafeteria. The students used Topper TV, school social media, morning announcements and flyers to reach more of campus, and they also developed activities for Los Alamos Middle School homeroom classes, bringing prevention conversations to younger students before habits harden.

The timing matters. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says e-cigarettes were the most commonly used tobacco product among U.S. youth in 2024, with 1.63 million middle and high school students reporting current use, including 1.21 million high school students. Among current youth users, 26.3% used e-cigarettes every day, and 87.6% used flavored products.

New Mexico’s numbers help explain why Los Alamos is trying a peer-led approach. State data show e-cigarette use among New Mexico high school youth reached 34% in 2019, compared with 8.9% for combustible cigarettes, and youth use had risen 42% since 2015. A CDC-linked study from 2023 found adolescent vaping was tied to friends’ vaping behavior, reinforcing the district’s decision to put classmates at the center of the message.

For Los Alamos schools, the pilot is more than a health lesson. It is also a test of whether student influence can change the feel of a campus, from hallway norms to classroom culture, and whether that shift can ripple into attendance and discipline as the year goes on.