FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — High school students from across the state and even some students from UK gathered today at the capitol to talk to local lawmakers about the state of underage nicotine use. Some described the situation as being a plague.
"It starts with one, and then it keeps expanding, and it feels like it just gets worse," said Casey County High School senior Jasmin Hernandez.
Hernandez said that she's seen how vaping affects her classmates firsthand. It's common for kids to take bathroom breaks to get their fix, instead of focusing on their school work, she said.
"I hate to see them destroy their body, for something like that...it's really not something they need," Hernandez said. "It's just for a hit of pleasure that lasts for a couple of seconds, but in the end it will give them lifelong health effects."
So Thursday, Hernandez and her peers took the fight to Frankfort, demanding changes to state policies on nicotine.
The cause is one may local organizations have advocated for, including the American Lung Association. Shannon Baker is with the organization, working to help students fight for stronger policies.
"It effects their future health, it effects their current health for that matter," Baker said. "We don't know what the long term implications are, but we know for sure they aren't going to be good."
They are asking the state to enforce licensing on all retailers that sell nicotine products, and believe that stores should go through annual compliance checks, get charged licensing fees, and heightened penalties when nicotine is sold to underage teens.
"If you're a person, and there is something near the candy, you almost physiologically think this is normal, it's innocent," Hernandez said. " Because its near something that's so friendly."
