My name is Grace Hahn and I am a sophomore at Adair High School. This has been my first year in the YAHL program. I will be talking about why we should work on comprehensive tobacco retail licensing in the state of Oklahoma. The CounterAct Tobacco program promotes healthy behaviors and is working on changing tobacco retail licensing to help teens across the state.

Policies are rules or principles that are created to achieve all sorts of goals. They help people to follow laws and give guidance to make decisions. It’s important to follow these so you have something to guide you and provide instruction to complete your tasks. Policies have impacted Oklahomans by setting the standard for living and care.

CounterAct Tobacco works on spreading awareness and trying to help keep teens safe. They share information to other people about the dangers of tobacco by social media, campaigns, text messages, and much more. The tobacco retail licenses that are given in Oklahoma will most likely have a positive effect on the health of many people. It makes tobacco products harder to sell and the stores have to be checked upon by regulators. I have become involved in this program by attending campaigns and spreading the word to other students about the situation.

I care deeply about this policy because I believe that everyone deserves to live a happy life without the worries of tobacco or drugs. YAHL has taught me how important it is to take care of yourself while thinking about other people. Students following these policies will give them a better future and the life that they deserve to live. Everyone should support the policy changes that CounterAct Tobacco is trying to make so  everyone can thrive in a positive environment and obtain the resources they need.

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By Grace Hahn

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