The Florence City Council heard from multiple Northern Kentucky anti-smoking organizations at Tuesday’s meeting.
Live Well Florence, the Boone County Alliance and students from Cooper High School all spoke out against smoking, vaping and e-cigarettes during the meeting.
LiveWell Florence is a group working together to create healthy environments and opportunities for all. The Boone County Alliance aims to reduce youth substance abuse, educate students on the dangers of vaping, and support mental wellness for students in Boone County.
“Vaping is becoming a concern in the schools,” said Ben Brown, chair of the Boone County Alliance. “I conduct a class every Friday for students that have been caught with vapes in the school and oftentimes students are not aware of the dangers and chemicals within the e-cigarettes.”
Some students from Cooper High School recently attended the Northern Kentucky Vaping Summit and developed a desire to end vaping within their high school.
“To detract individuals from starting smoking or vaping in the first place, we need laws to be implemented,” Maliah Alexander, a junior at Cooper, stated.
Another student shared her frustrations with what vaping has caused within her generation.
“I am disappointed in my peers,” said Audrey Schilling a sophomore at Cooper. “Some of them have lost interest in school and sports as a direct result of vaping.”
The speakers also spoke on the effects of second-hand smoke.
“We are collaborating with Interact for Health, UC Healthcare and UK Healthcare to gather data and conduct public opinion polls about smoke-free policies,” said Tom Cahill with LiveWell Florence. “These policies would protect employees, residents and children from
the dangers of secondhand smoke inside workplaces and public spaces.”
Along with smoking in and around workplaces and public spaces comes large amounts of tobacco waste and litter.
“In July of 2022, we held an event at Thomas More Stadium and collected three pounds of tobacco waste and seventeen pounds of litter,” Cahill stated. “At the Florence Government Center we also collected approximately one pound of tobacco waste. The tobacco waste collected from both events will be recycled and used for making benches.”
In addition to cigarette butts being the number one littered item in the United States, they also contain carcinogens and plastic cellulose acetate filters, which create plastic and hazardous waste.
“I believe momentum is building in the Northern Kentucky area for smoke-free policy,” said Cahill. “I encourage Florence and other communities to help stand up for cleaner air.”