Hello, my name is Haley Dyer, and I am a student at Ninnekah High School. This is my first year in the YAHL program, and I have had the chance to learn quite a bit about the policy change campaigns Elevate Student Health and CounterAct Tobacco.

The campaign that I am the most interested in is CounterAct Tobacco. CounterAct Tobacco works on moving the power out of the hands of Big Tobacco companies and into ours. We as Oklahomans should work on improving the tobacco policies currently in place because it can help make Oklahoma a healthier state for everyone, especially for our youth. Through comprehensive tobacco retail licensing, we can improve our policies to make sure these products are not as easy for minors to get as they are now.

For the CounterAct Tobacco campaign, I did a partner presentation to a few local community organizations at our local vo-tech. During the presentation, we presented to two different groups: Ninnekah Kiwanis and the Lions Club of Ninnekah. The presentation went very well, and we had a long conversation as an entire group about the issue of vapes among minors. I learned that the percentage of people who smoke and vape is higher than I thought and just how important it is to have the support of members in our community to help spread awareness about this issue. Thank you for your time, and if you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them.

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By: Haley Dyer, Ninnekah High School