Medical dramas have always been popular on television. Many times the storylines in these shows and movies seem to be far-fetched, but other times, they highlight important topics and issues prevalent in present-day society. Dr. Beth Hoffman is a postdoctoral associate in Pitt Public Health's Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences. After noticing that three prime-time medical dramas featured storylines highlighting the dangers of youth vaping, Dr. Hoffman says she had an idea. "I could not make a video as captivating as 'Grey's Anatomy,'" Hoffman said. "But it makes sense to take advantage of storylines that have been produced in Hollywood that are really well done." Thanks to a program called CHAMP, which connects Pittsburgh Public School District's Arsenal Middle School students and Pitt Medical School students and faculty, Hoffman was able to run a focus group using real middle schoolers. Hoffman used clips from three shows, including "Grey's Anatomy," "New Amsterdam" and "Chicago Med," to conduct the focus group with nearly 80 students from Arsenal. The students ranged in age of 13 to 14. About 50% of the students involved were black. Each tv episode featured in the lesson was produced in January 2020 and included a patient suffering from 'e-cigarette or vaping use-associated lung injury' also known as EVALI. EVALI is a persistent condition with symptoms that include shortness of breath and coughing. Hoffman says EVALI is a rather new condition, first noted in the last five years, but can be very dangerous and even deadly, especially among young adults. After watching the clips, the students were asked if they thought the scenarios seemed realistic and whether or not they thought the videos could be useful in a vaping prevention program. "One student said this was better than any DARE program," Hoffman said. "Another student said, 'I liked it this way. It was a little less annoying.'"With a laugh, Hoffman said, "That's high praise from a seventh-grader." According to the 2022 U.S. National Youth Tobacco Survey, more than 2.5 million high school and 380,000 middle school students reported using e-cigarettes within the past month. Arsenal Middle School teacher Tara Maddex says vaping is something that her students see and are exposed to every day. "A cigarette is a cigarette is a cigarette," Maddex said. "The students know that and that they are bad for you, but these e-cigarettes and vapes have so many different names and terms and that can be confusing to the students who think vapes aren't as harmful as cigarettes. " Hoffman and Maddex found that the storylines, though fictional, sparked real conversation amongst the students, who felt like they had a safe space to share their opinions and ask questions. "That partnership that gets them real information from a real doctor is key to getting the students to understand their choices," Maddex said. She added, "Especially now because in middle school, they're very impulsive, so they tend to just get handed stuff and they do stuff not thinking." Former Arsenal Middle School Principal Patty Camper says the timing of the lessons is crucial, especially when many of the products are marketed toward young people. "These products are everywhere," Camper said. "There is no question that in middle school, nobody wants to stand out, right? Everybody wants to fit in with a crowd or group and that starts in middle school and it carries over into high school." The results from Hoffman's study were published Wednesday in the journal Health Promotion Practice. According to Pitt, it's the first study using entertainment television to engage students in dialogue about the health effects of using e-cigarettes. Hoffman says she and her colleagues have received a grant from the National Institute of Health to examine nicotine and tobacco misinformation on youth-oriented social media platforms. Right now, they are working on a youth collaborative that includes students from Arsenal and other Pittsburgh public schools. Those students will be scientific partners in the research. According to Tara Maddex, about 80% of her students have chosen to be involved in the project. "That is huge," Maddex said. "These students were so receptive to that." She added, "My kids don't get their voice heard enough. And so for doctors to listen to them and say, 'Hey, I have all of these degrees, but I really value your opinion.' That's important to them and they want that." Hoffman says they are hoping to take the study past Pittsburgh public schools and into schools in more rural and suburban areas as well. Hoffman and her colleagues are also in the process of creating a repository of clips that health educators could use to address other key issues like substance use and sexual health.