The Talbot County Health Department Prevention Office is hosting a tobacco-free parent town hall event from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 16 at the Talbot County Free Library in Easton.
The town hall is open to everyone, and will focus on youth access to tobacco in Talbot County and how you can get involved. The event also will debut the youth-created mosaic done during the May 16 tobacco-free youth event.
“Our kids are still buying tobacco in Talbot County,” said Alexandra Duff, prevention coordinator for the health department. “We are hosting the June 16 event to help parents and caregivers keep our youth tobacco-free.”
The youth event and the June 16 town hall are part of a two-month local campaign through the prevention office, ‘Keeping Talbot Youth Tobacco-Free.”According to the latest youth behavioral risk survey, 20 percent of Talbot County high school students use some form of tobacco. And of those who smoke, 1 in 4 buy their own cigarettes.
The campaign also includes outreach to tobacco retailers, with resources and information to help reduce the number of underage sales. Research suggests that retail behavior is the strongest predictor of sales of cigarettes to youth. When retailers require identification, underage sales are more than cut in half.
The Cigarette Restitution Fund supports the campaign.
If you’d like more information, please contact Duff, prevention coordinator at the Talbot County Health Department, at 410-819-5600.
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