Local students advocate for stricter tobacco laws

On Dec. 21, 2019, the federal government passed a Tobacco 21 policy which increases the age to purchase all tobacco products from 18 to 21. It also allows individual states to improve compliance and enhance strict penalties for tobacco retailers who sell to youth under the age of 21.

Advocates gathered Tuesday at the Statehouse to support stricter tobacco laws, including six youth from Hamilton County. Two of those youth played a key role and spoke to approximately 200 attendees at the Tobacco Free Indiana Advocacy event.

Lucy Schenk, a junior at Guerin Catholic High School an advocate for Breathe Easy Hamilton County and VOICE Indiana kicked off the event by saying, “So many teenagers out there don’t know how dangerous vaping can be. They don’t know how their vaping today will affect their tomorrow.”

Advocates young and old traveled from across the state to voice their concerns.

“With the millions of dollars the tobacco industry spends marketing to children, Indiana’s youth tobacco crisis grew bigger and faster than any of us imagined, said Breathe Easy Hamilton County Youth Development Director, Stevie Clapp. “It seems like every day, we are hearing about another case of a child becoming addicted to tobacco products. In Indiana, 30 percent of all cancer cases are caused by smoking. I am thrilled our youth are ready to take action.”

The group also wants to shift more of the focus from youth being penalized more than the retailers.

“There is a huge discrepancy in the way that Indiana is enforcing underage tobacco sales [laws] sometimes penalizing youth more harshly than the retailers who sell these deadly products,” said Bryan Hannon, the Tobacco Free Indiana Chairman. “The objective of the Tobacco Free Indiana Advocacy Day was to fight for legislation that would have tougher consequences for retailers that break the law and sell to those under the age of 21.”

Alana Halsted, a freshman at Westfield High School and also a youth advocate agreed.

“It is too easy for kids to access smoking products and kids should not be punished for this,” Halsted said. “It’s not their fault and retailers are getting away with this.”

The current law, for example, states the maximum fine for a retailer that sells to an underage person is $400 and for the youth the fine could be up to $500.

The Breathe Easy Hamilton County/VOICE Indiana youth advocates met with legislators to share their stories in hope that they would gain their support to have stricter enforcement for T21 policy.