Hello, my name is Karli Everett, and I am from Chelsea, Oklahoma. I am 15 years old, and I am a part of a program called YAHL. YAHL is a youth-led organization working to improve the lives of Oklahoma youth and create a healthier environment across the state. Throughout my time in the YAHL program, I hope to gain more leadership skills along with better public speaking skills. I joined this program because I want to be a part of the positive change with tobacco policies, making it so tobacco products are out of reach for young children, teens and young adults under the age of 18. Two unhealthy trends I see in my generation are a lack of physical activity and vaping, which we can improve by taking the power out of Big Tobacco companies’ hands and into ours. We can help with ensuring tobacco products - including vapes - are not easily accessible to minors with our CounterAct Tobacco campaign. We can also assist in increasing physical activity in our schools by improving our school wellness policies with our Elevate Student Health campaign.
The CounterAct Tobacco campaign has taught me the dangers of vaping. Vaping is unhealthy because it is harmful to the body and organs. Did you know Oklahoma is only 1 of 20 states without retail licensure for e-cigarettes, vapor, and other nicotine products? Requiring licensure for these products helps regulate the use and sale of nicotine products to children. 90% of nicotine addictions start before the user is 18. The young teens ages 15-17 are mainly affected by vaping, and I know many of my peers are in this category. The CounterAct Tobacco campaign works to spread awareness about the loopholes in our current tobacco policies and hopes to obtain comprehensive tobacco retail licensing, requiring stores to have a license to sell tobacco/vapor products. This could help reduce the use of these harmful products by minors.
I want to help reduce the use of tobacco/vapor products among youth, and on top of that, help youth get more physically active. I will help with this by meeting with members in the community to gain their support for stricter tobacco policies. You can help support, too! With you and all of us involved in the CounterAct Tobacco campaign, we can help make Oklahoma a better, safer environment for everyone.
By: Karli Everett, Chelsea High School
