Healthy Lungs, Healthy Students: Essential Back-To-School Tips from the American Lung Association

Millions of kids are heading back to classrooms and young adults are starting college for the 2024-2025 school year. While this is an exciting time for students, parents and schools, it can also mean new lung health challenges. The American Lung Association is providing guidance to parents, young adults and school officials to ensure that everyone heads back to school with healthy lungs. 

“A new school year often means a new environment for students and staff, including new asthma triggers, exposure to new viruses, peer pressure to smoke or vape, and other stressors that can impact the health of students,” said Harold Wimmer, President and CEO of the American Lung Association. “Students and staff spend a significant amount of time in school, so it is critical to their wellbeing and education that they are in the healthiest environment and are making the healthiest choices possible.”

The Lung Association’s comprehensive Creating Lung-Friendly Environments for Youth initiative aims to help schools and caregivers address chronic lung diseases like asthma, air quality and tobacco-free policies. The free initiative offers information, guides and sample policies that can be implemented in schools to protect students and staff.

The Lung Association is also working to educate parents, students and school officials in four critical areas of lung health:

1. Asthma: There are 6.1 million kids under the age of 18 living with asthma, a leading cause of missed school days. The Lung Association has in-depth resources for parents, young adults and schools, including:

• Stock Asthma Medication: Implementation Guidance for Schools, a free online course designed for school personnel who administer medications and stakeholders seeking to understand and implement stock quick-relief asthma medication laws, policies or programs. Five additional states approved stock asthma medications laws this year so far.
• Breathe Well, Live Well Plus, the Lung Association’s premier online adult asthma self-management program that teaches adults and young adults to take control of their asthma. In addition, the program integrates the Lung Health Navigators at the Lung Helpline, and the comprehensive resources from the Patient and Caregiver Network.
• HBCU Students and Asthma Initiative: Through this initiative, the Lung Association partners with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to provide Breathe Well, Live Well® to young adults who have asthma.

2. Tobacco Use: A new school year can also lead to new stressors and peer pressure situations such as vaping and other tobacco or nicotine product use, which is a significant public health concern. According to the 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey, more than 2.1 million middle and high school students reported that they have used e-cigarettes in the last 30 days. The Lung Association has resources to prevent tobacco use and help youth quit, specifically designed for schools, parents and teens outlined in the American Lung Association’s Comprehensive Approach to Ending Youth Vaping Model, including INDEPTH alternative to suspension program, Not On Tobacco voluntary youth cessation program, the Vape-Free Schools Initiative, and many more resources available online.

3. Indoor Air Quality: The health of our school environments is a priority, but some hazards are not as apparent, like indoor air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Poor air quality in schools can affect student, teacher, and staff’s attention, cognition and ability to learn. The American Lung Association offers a free downloadable guide on how school administrators can improve their indoor air quality.

4. Infectious Respiratory Diseases and Vaccinations: A new school year means new friends, new teachers and sometimes, viruses, so it is critical that students are up to date on how to stay healthy through good habits and all routinely recommended vaccinations, including influenza and COVID-19. Learn more about why vaccines are so important for lung health.

More resources are available at Lung.org.