MINDCO HEALTH PARTNERS WITH STANFORD REACH LAB TO GAMIFY VAPING PREVENTION AND CESSATION
Players vs Vaping: the First-Of-Its-Kind Anti-Vaping Minecraft Adventure Map
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Healthtech startup MindCo Health today announced the launch of MindCo Quit Vaping Program which features a Minecraft Adventure Map for servers. This program is designed to enable teens to gain knowledge and training about their relationship with vaping in a unique and effective way: through gaming.
An increasing number of teens are vaping nicotine/tobacco and/or cannabis/THC products, with record numbers of youth addicted to nicotine as e-cigarette and vaping companies market nicotine delivery devices directly to adolescents. With over 5 million vaping students, almost 20% of high school and 5% of middle school students have used an e-cigarette in the past 30 days. Every day, more and more parents, educators, and youth are asking for help.
"When I tell kids there are 400,000 smokers dying each year and the tobacco industry is looking to them to replace the next one who dies, it really wakes them up,' said Dr. Bonnie Halpern-Felsher of Reach Lab Stanford, co-developer on the project.
Backed by 100+ academic and clinical studies, MindCo Quit Vaping is a behavior change program developed by MindCo Health. Using years of experience with smoking cessation programs and other digital therapeutics, MindCo has partnered with GamerSafer, a safety tech company with a long track record in player safety and promoting positive, fair play experiences within online games. Together, these teams built an immersive Minecraft experience focused on vaping prevention and cessation: Players vs Vaping - Minecraft for Good.
"Helping adults quit smoking is not enough. We need to address our children's problems by meeting them where they are, and gaming can be the perfect vehicle to do so," said Emilio Goldenhersch, CEO & cofounder at MindCo Health.
The gameplay takes place at the start of the school year in the fictitious Dark Forest High School, with characters that will lead the player through challenges while educating them about the risks and harms of vaping. Those challenges include parkour, easter egg hunts, a maze, and a circuit puzzle, all found within the familiar halls of a public school.
"Minecraft has tremendous penetration with the target demographic, and through a fun and engaging gaming dynamic, we are scaling awareness about the risks of vaping to millions of players. "Players vs Vaping" is a great example of how games can be leveraged for good," said Rodrigo Tamellini, GamerSafer Co-founder & CEO.
Players who complete the challenge map will receive in-game cosmetic items as prizes built for that unique community. They can join the event on one of the participating servers for several weeks to kick off the start of the Fall 2022 school year. With MindCo Quit Vaping Program, players are given what they need to combat vaping and addiction, so they come out as winners in the fight for their mental and physical health.
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SOURCE MindCo Health
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