My name is Richelle Charles. I have been a member of the YAHL program since 2024. I have helped the YAHL campaign spread the word of our programs, Elevate Student Health and CounterAct Tobacco, through collecting surveys and doing presentations. I presented at my school during a teachers’ meeting with my fellow YAHL members, and it was a success! We collected opinion surveys and feedback from our teachers.

CounterAct Tobacco would have to be the program I’m most passionate about. CounterAct Tobacco is a program that allows us as a team to advocate for required licensing to sell tobacco products, including vapes and nicotine-only products, within the state of Oklahoma. We are working to ensure that these products cannot be easily attained by youth in the community. 

I am most passionate about this because I have felt the effects of losing a loved one to tobacco, so I want to encourage others to avoid the use of tobacco as well as encourage others to lead a healthy lifestyle. The YAHL program has helped me do that. I believe with the help of our community, we can get preemption removed to require comprehensive tobacco retail licensing and make our state a safer environment for our youth.

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By: Richelle Charles, John Marshall High School