LOGAN – The Rural Health Association of Utah (RHAU) is committed to promoting and enhancing the quality of rural life through leadership and coalition building to affect policy and legislation.
RHAU executive director Kasey Shakespear said rural Utah is a special place and deserves to have champions.
That is why Utah State University Extension recently received the Rural Education Partner of the Year Award from RHAU. USU Extension plays a role in rural Utah by offering a wide range of educational programs.
Shakespear said the award recognizes USU Extension’s work in combatting the rising trend of youth e-cigarette use in rural Utah.
One of Extension’s evidence-based programs — Be Epic, Escape the Vape — was launched in 2020 to tackle youth e-cigarette use in Carbon, Emery and Grand counties.
In 2019 over 48 percent of 12th graders reported trying e-cigarettes in the Four Corners area but by 2023 lifetime use dropped to less than 33 percent and past 30-day use fell to 20 percent.