SPA reaches out to parents to tackle teen tobacco use

With new types of smokeless tobacco being test marketed in Summit County stores and more students than ever admitting to using tobacco, local advocates are reaching out to parents to educate them about the dangers of the substance.

Parent and community outreach and education on the issues surrounding kids' tobacco use in Summit County began at a public forum Thursday night at Summit Middle School, which was part of the Summit Prevention Alliance's We Count program.

“It really is the community's responsibility to learn about these products, these issues and talk to the kids about them,” said Carli Seeba of the Summit Prevention Alliance. “The community and parents are the filter through which the youth get their information, and it's up to us to make sure the kids are getting the right message and can say no.”

In the last two years tobacco use among underage consumers has gone down statewide, but has risen in Summit County, according to data provided by students in a recent survey.

“We have a problem here,” Seeba said. “It's something that needs to be addressed.”

Summit County currently has no registration or licensure policies for the sale of tobacco, seldom runs compliance checks on retailers and imposes what Seeba called a lenient punishment structure, that includes two affirmative defenses and a written warning, on businesses that do sell to kids under the age of 18.

“I don't like the fact that there's no licensing and no monitoring of cigarette use and sales or that there are no restrictions on how close cigarette sales can be held to a school or a day care,” middle school parent Ellen Temby said following Thursday's meeting. “Then all the new products that make it easy for a kid to hide it, and you can't smell it.”

While the Summit Prevention Alliance works with Summit's Rep. Millie Hamner to develop legislation that might propose tobacco-sale licensure requirements, Seeba urged parents to take the first steps toward preventing their kids from using tobacco.

The 20 or more parents who attended the meeting Thursday were asked to talk to kids about tobacco and to focus on social impacts of smoking that will resonate with kids, such as bad breath and effects on athletic performance. Adults at the meeting were also encouraged to teach kids to say no to tobacco, to be good role models, to trust youth to make good decisions and not to blame kids who do use tobacco.