Hi, I’m Alexa, and I’m a student at La Monte High School. This is my first year on the leadership team for Show Me Smokefree. Show Me Smokefree is a youth-led campaign that advocates for changes to smoking policies. Our goal is to raise awareness about the dangers of secondhand smoke and push for stronger protections to keep people safe from it.
Secondhand smoke affects so many innocent people, including my family and me, who often find ourselves breathing in toxic fumes from cigarettes and vapes when we’re out in public. Even though it may not seem like a big deal in the moment, over time, these chemicals build up in your lungs and can lead to serious health problems.
As a member of Show Me Smokefree, I’ve attended meetings and presentations that show just how harmful secondhand smoke is, especially to youth. At one Building Communities for Better Health meeting, I heard people discussing how unsafe it is to smoke indoors in places like restaurants and bowling alleys, because of the buildup of harmful chemicals in the air. This really hit home for me because places like those—places I go with my family for fun—shouldn’t be exposing us to smoke. It motivates me to fight harder for better protections.
Secondhand smoke has many of the same harmful effects as firsthand smoke. Show Me Smokefree is working to get policies passed that would prevent exposure to secondhand smoke and vaping in public. Even though we don’t know everything about the long-term health effects of vaping yet, we do know it’s harmful to your health. Right now, the policies in my town don’t cover vaping, and that’s why we’re trying to raise awareness. We want our decision-makers to update the policies to protect everyone.
Protecting the community from secondhand smoke is crucial for everyone’s health. It’s not just about the people who choose to smoke—it’s about the people around them, like my family, who don’t have a choice but to breathe in the fumes. It makes me nervous to go out and spend time with my loved ones, knowing we might be exposed to harmful chemicals.
New protections would make the air cleaner in public spaces, and that would be better for everyone. No one likes the smell of smoke, but more importantly, it can affect people’s health—especially those who are more vulnerable, like babies, kids, the elderly, and people with existing health problems. Without policies to limit smoking and vaping in public, we risk seriously harming people with weak immune systems or lung conditions. Secondhand smoke can even be deadly.
It’s time for our community to take action!
