SAULT STE. MARIE – Ashley Young has joined the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan as a program manager for Our Breath is
Sacred: Menthol and Flavored Tobacco Program and the Smoke Free Homes Program in the Health Education and Chronic
Disease Department. These programs are being implemented within six tribes and organizations: Bay Mills Indian Community,
Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Lac Vieux Desert Band of Chippewa
Indian Community and Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians and Leelanau Investing For Teens. Ashley will also be supporting
the REACH – Healthy Native People Coalition as well as the Youth Coalition.
With youth e-cigarette use remaining a serious public health epidemic and threat to addict a new generation to nicotine, The
Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan has partnered with Truth Initiative to offer This is Quitting–the first-of-its-kind, free and
anonymous text message quit vaping program with over 750,000 enrolled to date.
Launched in January 2019, This is Quitting is designed for teens and young adults looking to quit e-cigarettes. The program
provides them with tailored advice, cognitive and behavioral coping strategies, and social support to help them quit. Results from
a clinical trial published by JAMA Internal Medicine demonstrate the effectiveness of the program and found that young adults
aged 18-24 who used This is Quitting from Truth had nearly 40% higher odds of quitting compared to a control group.
Young people in Michigan who are looking to quit vaping can enroll in This is Quitting by texting SACREDBREATH to 88709.
The Smoke-Free Homes: Some Things are Better Outside intervention is an evidence-based program that assists households in
creating smoke-free home rules to decrease exposure to secondhand smoke. The intervention consists of four components:
three mailings of educational print materials, including a tool-kit for creating a smoke-free home, and one coaching call designed
to help participants create a smoke-free home using the 5-Steps outlined in the print materials.
Ashley will be working out of the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan’s central office in Sault Ste. Marie. Ashley is from Sault Ste.
Marie and has earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Olivet. She is a member of the Sault Tribe of
Chippewa Indians.