Hi, I'm NaQuaya. I'm in 10th grade and this is my first year in YAHL. YAHL works on CounterAct Tobacco. CounterAct Tobacco is a campaign about youth, adults and tobacco use. Often young children don't care about their health until it affects them when they are older. 

The CounterAct Tobacco policies we advocate for are most likely to stop children from wanting to smoke. Big tobacco targets kids. It is important to have strong policies because people are most likely to follow the policies. 

CounterAct Tobacco works to stop young adults from smoking and educates on the causes of tobacco use. It makes its progress by talking to people about the effects of tobacco use and sees if they're willing to join the cause. I think a lot of people can become addicted to tobacco and people will think it's trending and more people will begin to do tobacco. I've told friends about the effects of tobacco and why they shouldn't use tobacco. 

I care because tobacco is very harmful. Most people get cancer from tobacco and it ends in fatalities. This makes people realize that smoking isn't a trend.

By NaQuaya Ellison, YAHL Leadership Team Member from Southeast High School