When students go back to school in August, a new law will continue to support efforts to educate Oklahoma youths about the dangers of tobacco and vapor device use.
Senate Bill 33, signed into law by Gov. Kevin Stitt, amends the 24/7 Tobacco-Free Schools Act to include banning vapor products at an educational facility, in school vehicles and at any school-sponsored or school-sanctioned event or activity.
This is a step forward in protecting Oklahoma kids from the pervasive use of vapor products, e-cigarettes and Juul devices. In just one year, e-cigarette use increased by 78 percent nationally. Youth vapor use has been called an “epidemic” by the U.S. surgeon general, and in Oklahoma alone 1 in 6 high school students use e-cigarettes, compared to 13.2 percent nationally.
Schools have become the front line for keeping kids from using the highly addictive devices. Ask any educator and they will tell you kids across all social spectrums are using Juul devices and sneaking puffs in bathrooms and hallways. As parents and caring adults, we need to be talking with our children about the dangers of nicotine addiction. Tobacco Stops With Me, an educational program of the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, has resources to help start those conversations and spot the signs of vaping in children.
Since the 24/7 Tobacco Free Schools Act passed in 2015, many schools have updated policies to include vapor products. This change in state law gives all Oklahoma public school children the same protections from secondhand smoke and vapor, as well as supporting positive health behaviors in the school environment.
Oklahoma’s state law change is significant and timely as the rate of e-cigarette use among teens continues to increase. A child’s brain develops until age 25 and nicotine exposure in those developing years can increase the likelihood of lifelong addiction and can impact the parts of the brain that control mood, attention and impulse control and can impact learning.
Laws that create healthier environments for all Oklahoman promote healthy choices and ultimately save lives, lower health care costs and help move our state forward.
Julie Bisbee is executive director of the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, a voter-created grant-making trust devoted to preventing cancer and cardiovascular disease, Oklahoma’s leading causes of death.