Latest news with #BoydCountyHighSchool
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Local teen testifies about vaping
ASHLAND At 14, Delanie Crump has appeared before a Senate committee to testify about something she believes in. The Boyd County High School ninth-grader spoke to the General Assembly's Senate committee on education and the licensing and occupations committee in February about the negative impact vaping can have on youth using statistics to explain the urgency of the issue. She was urging the Senate to pass SB 100, which further enforces Tobacco 21, the law prohibiting those younger than 21 from purchasing tobacco or e-cigarette products. Crump, daughter of Daniel Crump and Brianna Davis, said the bill, which passed and will become law in January 2026, requires tobacco retailers to have a license to sell products and requires the use of a database to keep track of sellers; it also requires compliance checks on retailers and harsher penalties on those who violate the laws. These measures aim to enforce compliance, which would decrease underage sales. "This isn't just about lung cancer 30 years down the line. It's about kids dropping out of sports because their lungs can't keep up. It's about the anxiety and depression that nicotine addiction fuels. It's about academic distraction and under-performance. It's about an entire generation being stolen before they've had a chance to live fully," she said in her speech to the committees. Crump's mother said she was shocked to learn her daughter would speak to lawmakers. "It's not every day you see a 14-year-old who is brave enough to do that, especially on something as important as underage vaping," Davis said. "I'm so proud of her using her voice to make a difference." Crump said she enjoys public speaking, but she was nervous about speaking to the committee. "I've never spoken in a setting like that," she said. "However, once I was in the hearing room and on the stand, the nervousness went away, as I was focusing on what I was saying and how to say it in a way that would be most impactful. Following the speech, I was satisfied with the way it went, and I felt that the anxiousness leading up to it was worth it." Vaping wasn't an issue on her radar, but Crump said she joined the Youth Advisory Board for #icanendthetrend, a program through the University of Kentucky that aims to prevent vaping. Davis said joining the youth advisory board was a whim, but it turns out Crump found her passion. "They've really challenged all the students on the board and she made great friends in the process. She realized she wants to major in health care, thanks to this opportunity," Davis said. "I'm so grateful the program exists. I was also so impressed with the amount of respect the senators showed to her during her testimony. They were very encouraging and supportive. Senate Bill 100 is now becoming a law, thanks to these kids and the adults who believed in their bill." Crump's knowledge about vaping has grown, and learned some important facts, including: • Nearly one in 10 middle school students and one in five high school students uses e-cigarettes. • Flavored tobacco products, like menthols and sweet, fruity vapes, are directly designed to appeal to youth. • Nicotine can permanently damage developing brains. "These changes aren't radical. They're necessary. Every delay costs more lives. Every loophole in legislation lets addiction thrive," Crump said of the new law. Crump said the experience of speaking to the General Assembly was enriching. "I believe the most important lesson I learned was that anyone can make a difference, and the power of communities coming together," she said. "It was incredible to see so many other young people from around the state who are passionate about the issue coming together to make a change and actually seeing changes in progress. It taught me to never underestimate what can be done when people come together toward change." (606) 326-2661 | lward@
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bill cracking down on nicotine sales to underage Kentuckians clears committee
In Kentucky, almost 20% of high school students use electronic cigarettes and 5% smoke, according to The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. (Getty Images) A legislative committee unanimously advanced a bill Tuesday that the sponsor has promised will add 'teeth' to Kentucky laws aimed at keeping nicotine products out of the hands of youth. Senate Bill 100, from Sen. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon, can now go to the Senate floor for a vote. Delanie Crump, a first year student at Boyd County High School in Ashland, testified before the Senate Licensing and Occupations Committee alongside Higdon. She said that too many of her peers have access to vapes with the potential for long term effects. 'Imagine this: A middle schooler, just 12 years old, trying a vape for the first time because it tastes like candy,' Crump said. 'They don't see the addiction coming, but it grabs hold of them anyways. By high school, they're hooked. This isn't just a hypothetical. It's happening in every classroom, every neighborhood, in every state in our nation.' E-cigarettes are addictive and can damage the heart and lungs, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. 'The consequences of inaction are devastating. This isn't just about lung cancer 30 years down the line,' Crump told lawmakers. 'It's about kids dropping out of sports because their lungs can't keep up. It's about the anxiety and depression that nicotine fuels. It's about academic distraction and under performance. It's about an entire generation being stolen before they've had a chance to live fully.' Crump, who also works with the youth advisory board for the tobacco prevention hashtag movement #iCANendthetrend, said Kentucky needs better enforcement of bans on underage tobacco sales, to license retailers and conduct compliance checks on them, and to impose 'harsher' penalties for violations. All of that would be accomplished by Higdon's SB 100, which would license all retailers who sell tobacco and vape products, giving the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control inspection and enforcement powers over them, similar to those it exercises over alcohol retailers. The legislation would also establish a system of fines. Clerks who sell to minors would be fined $100 per violation. Shop owners would receive a notice after the first violation then be fined $500 on the second offense and then $1,000. Upon a fourth violation, retailers would lose their license and not be able to renew it for two years. Half of the fine money would go to enforcement expenses and the other half to 'a youth program directed at targeting and educating youth on the dangers of tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, and vapor products,' according to the bill. 'This bill has one purpose, to stop the supply of vapes and cigarettes to (the) underage,' Higdon said. 'The majority of Kentucky retailers are great retailers. They follow the law. This bill is directed at bad actors.' Griffin Nemeth, a youth advisory board coordinator for #iCANendthetrend, agreed. 'Tobacco retail licensure is not an anti-business measure at all. I think it's pro-business,' he said. 'We care about Kentucky's economy, and I know you all do as well. We want to preserve its integrity and growth. The only businesses who will be harmed by tobacco retail licensure are those acting criminally, those selling often illegal nicotine products to underage kids.' Smoking is also a leading cause of preventable death across the country, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. In Kentucky, smoking and lung cancer rates exceed those in the rest of the nation. About 17% of Kentucky adults smoke compared to 11% nationally. In Kentucky, 5% of high school students smoke and almost 20% use e-cigarettes, according to The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Smoking costs the state more than $2 billion every year in health complications, according to the campaign. 'Will this completely stop underage vaping?' Higdon said. 'Unfortunately, no. But it's a step in the right direction.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
