ASPIRE is a bilingual, online tool that helps middle and high school teens learn about being tobacco free. It explains the dangers of tobacco and nicotine use, so they never start smoking. Or, if they already do, it gives information and ways to quit.
- Students can earn a certificate of completion upon finishing the program. Click on “Student Log In” to begin.
- Teachers/Administrators can see students’ progress by logging in to the Admin site.
- Parents can help their teens be tobacco and nicotine free.
- Healthcare providers can refer teen patients to this engaging tobacco/nicotine resource.
- Anyone can see what ASPIRE offers to fit their needs by clicking on “ASPIRE Select.”
Access the new ASPIRE 2.0
The new ASPIRE includes new and emerging products such as e-cigs, hookah and synthetic marijuana.
ASPIRE Resources
ASPIRE Red Ribbon PSA Challenge
Cypress Lakes High School students received 1st and 2nd place for the Art category and 3rd place for the Video category in Red Ribbon PSA Challenge for students. Their teacher, Ms. Ayodele, received a special appreciation award for inspiring her students.
Landrum Middle School coaches signed 523 kids with ASPIRE program during Red Ribbon Week and became winners in Teachers’ Challenge.
Furr High School students received all three awards in the Digital Art category. Special thanks to their Digital Design teacher, Ms. Lagos.
ASPIRE Program Manager, Giselle Montes, delivers the 3rd place Red Ribbon PSA Challenge award in the Art category to Jose Jimenez, a student at Woodland Acres Middle School.
Congratulations to Ms. Nateasel Davis from North Shore 10th Grade Center, on enrolling 276 students in the Red Ribbon Week Teacher Challenge! Great job!
Ms. Gloria Butler from Pin Oak Middle School received an award for enrolling 491 students in ASPIRE during Red Ribbon Week. Way to go!
Humble ISD’s Kingwood Park High School received an award for enrolling 251 students in the ASPIRE Program. Thank you for your support in tobacco prevention!
ASPIRE Red Ribbon Week Challenge for teachers and students is over, awards are delivered, winners are happy, and ASPIRE team is excited planning the new challenge for our community to spread the awareness about the nicotine related products. We would like to share with you some testimonials from Red Ribbon PSA Challenge Winners:
Cypress Lakes High School (CyFair ISD)
Asiah Powers: ASPIRE inspired me to send a message to the community by giving me the tools I needed to make an impact. As a teen, I am targeted by Big Tobacco, and I feel that it is my duty to keep my peers informed on the real effects of tobacco use. Many people in the age bracket of 13 ñ 24 believe the lies told to them by those uniformed or by Big Tobacco himself. ASPIRE has given me the ability to set the record straight.
Jennifer Nguyen: Growing up in an environment where smoking is normalized, it was really difficult to understand the extent of harm that these drugs can inflict on their userís health. ASPIRE has been an eye-opener for me and truly depicts how detrimental tobacco can be in every form. It is crucial that we advocate for a nicotine-free world, and I strongly believe that we should do everything in our power to make it happen. Iím very grateful to be part of your campaign.
Furr High School (Houston ISD)
Edwin Gomez Rodriguez: The way this competition and ASPIRE changed my perspective on smoking is by showing me that smoking can harm anyone. Even if the person is not smoking. Smoking can kill a grown person so imagine a child who is not even born yet.
Dina Lerma: The ASPIRE program and this project has reaffirmed my perspective on how smoking ruins lives by making them broke, sick, and miserable.
Jesus Aguilar: ASPIRE and the competition taught me that if you want to have a better chance living longer, you have to say no to smoking. I learned that smoking can do a lot of damage to a person in many ways.
MD Anderson and HISD Partnership
MD Anderson and HISD partner for youth tobacco prevention program
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Houston Independent School District (HISD) have reached a first-of-its-kind agreement to provide access to an evidence-based, youth-oriented tobacco prevention and cessation program for all 100,000 HISD middle and high school students.
ASPIRE News
ASPIRE educates Arizona youth about the hazards of smoking
The ASPIRE program was recently launched in middle schools and high schools in Mohave County, Arizona. The Mohave Valley Daily News describes the program as a way to end generational smoking habits.
“Nearly a quarter of adults in Mohave County smoke cigarettes, and this habit in families tends to become generational,” said Susan Williams, coordinator of Tobacco Use and Chronic Disease Prevention Program in the Mohave County Department of Public Health. “The ASPIRE program is an important opportunity to educate youth on the hazards of tobacco use and help encourage Mohave County students to become a tobacco-free generation.”
Read the complete Mohave Valley Daily News article.
This website is based on the school curriculum called ASPIRE (A Smoking Prevention Interactive Experience) developed by MD Anderson Cancer Center with assistance from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Funding has been provided by the National Cancer Institute, the George & Barbara Bush Endowment for Innovative Cancer Research and Tobacco Settlement Funds. ASPIRE has been thoroughly reviewed and included in the NCI's RTIPs database as an evidence-based program as well as being endorsed by SAMHSA and the Cochrane Review.