Using a Youth Advisory Council to Address the Youth Vaping Epidemic

Youth use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes or vaping) has skyrocketed in recent years, resulting in a youth vaping epidemic. To combat this epidemic, a coalition of U.S.-based researchers created the Rapidly Advancing Discovery to Arrest the Outbreak of Youth Vaping (VapeRace) Center to stop youth e-cigarette use through integration of research across basic, clinical, behavioral, and population-based domains. Because most research on youth vaping is researcher-driven, the VapeRace Community Engagement and Research Translation (CERT) Core was created to facilitate stakeholder input and engagement with Center activities to develop partnerships between VapeRace researchers, youth, and the community. To help achieve these goals, a VapeRace Youth Advisory Council (YAC) was formed. This article describes the development and implementation of the VapeRace YAC, details its outcomes, and offers lessons learned and future recommendations for similar youth advisory groups.