Hello, my name is Hope Hodson. I am a senior at Sperry High School and a member of the YAHL Leadership Team. As a YAHL Leadership Team member, I get to work on the CounterAct Tobacco campaign. One of the campaign objectives of CounterAct Tobacco is eliminating preemption.

Preemption restricts local communities from passing stricter tobacco laws and policies. This limits communities' ability to regulate the sale of tobacco products and allows shops to sell vapes and e-cigarettes without a license. Since only a sales tax permit is required to sell vapes and e-cigarettes, it makes it easier for teens like me to access these products. In the state of Oklahoma, retailers must have a license to sell regular cigarettes; however, that is not the case for vapes.

One of the things we do through the CounterAct Tobacco campaign to advocate for stricter policies is speak with our local elected officials at city council meetings. I presented to the Sperry City Council with my fellow YAHL Leadership Team member, Hallie. They took time out of their meeting to listen to us discuss the CounterAct Tobacco campaign and its objectives. In Sperry, my local elected officials signed a proclamation recognizing Youth Health Month from March 14 to April 14. I am so glad they did this because it will help prevent young people, including my niece, from having easy access to tobacco products.

Thank you for taking the time to read this

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By: Hope Hodson, Sperry High School