QuitTogether wins Rep. Ami Bera’s 2024 Congressional App Challenge in California’s Sixth District

When asked what inspired the creation of QuitTogether, the students said, “Almost every day, school is interrupted by false alarms blaring loud noises into the classrooms where students should find a peaceful place to learn. The increased volume of vaping not only hinders the educational experience for others, but also harms the people using nicotine as an escape. Whenever we enter bathrooms, we are often engulfed in smoke that contains harmful carcinogens and molecules that are proven to cause lung disease. Through conversations with people who are in rehab, we learned that a key struggle in this addiction is the lack of resources that are targeted at teenagers or even of-age smokers. Even though vaping is an increasingly large problem at high schools like Mira Loma, there is a limited availability of instruction to students by boosting knowledge of the side effects. We learned that people continue vaping due to the perception that it is a safer alternative to smoking, although they often have the same health impacts due to heavy metals. 

By creating QuitTogether, we aim to create a platform that consolidates multiple resources in one intuitive application that can be used to ease into a healthier life. This epidemic has been taking over the healthy lives of many teenagers, especially due to predatory advertising by companies like Juul which especially targeted minors. Although legal action is a step in the right direction, creating resources that help the victims of these marketing campaigns is of utmost importance. These issues provided us with an opportunity to use the advent of technology and apply it to a situation that directly impacts the lives of teenagers everywhere. We also wanted to protect the people exposed to second-hand vapor (almost all the students at Mira Loma High School), since they too can face health effects that would negatively affect them. Real-world impacts and resources to help quit electronic smoking devices are the key to a healthier future.”