Eastern Hancock High School students Allissa Smithson, Gracie Castner and Griffin Lawrence talk with teacher Marci Gilbert. The students started VOICE right before the pandemic hit. It sputtered due to the pandemic so they’re really just getting it going now. They were the last county school to get such a program, which combats tobacco use. Monday, April 4, 2022.
Tom Russo | Daily Reporter
EASTERN HANCOCK — Teenagers with the Eastern Hancock High School Voice Program say if they can reach just one fellow classmate to help them change a bad habit — tobacco use — the club will have served its purpose.
The Voice Program is Indiana’s statewide youth empowerment organization whose initiative is to engage, educate and empower teens to promote and celebrate tobacco-free lifestyles.
Eastern Hancock junior Gracie Castner, sophomore Griffin Lawrence and sophomore Allissa Smithson have taken the lead roles with the program, getting it off the ground and doing all they can to educate their classmates about the dangers of tobacco use.
“If someone is already addicted but they want to learn about what these products are doing to their bodies, they need to hear it from someone they trust,” Lawrence said. “We’ve been getting that message out there.”
State officials noted Indiana had one of the highest youth smoking rates in the country only a few years ago. Estimates presented by Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids state that 22.5% of Indiana’s youth are currently regular smokers, 9,800 youth pick up smoking each year and 160,000 youth in Indiana will die prematurely from smoking-related illnesses. These stats, along with many others, are part of the driving force behind the Voice mission.
Castner said she wanted to be a part of the Voice program to be a sounding board for students who might be considering tobacco use.
“It’s a lot easier for students to talk to someone my age and not an adult,” Castner said. “That way they are not being told what to do, and it’s more of a conversation and not a lecture.”
Smithson joined the school’s voice program after she saw how they collected some 60 pounds of cigarette butts in the county, showcasing how students can make a difference in their community.
“It was a small change, but they were doing something impactful,” Smithson said. “They were spreading awareness, and I wanted to be a part of something like that and help educate my peers.”
Marci Gilbert, a family consumer science and health teacher at Eastern Hancock High School, was approached by a couple of students who asked if she might sponsor a group intereted in starting a Voice program for their peers.
“Our kids wanted to raise awareness and try to help others who might be curious about or hooked on smoking,” Gilbert said. “I thought it was a great idea.”
While the group tried to push forward with Zoom meetings, they were hampered by the pandemic and only recently have been able to push forward with getting the school’s Voice program rolling. Gilbert noted it’s still difficult to gain a lot of traction because some students look at the club as a “certified snitch” group. However, Gilbert and students say they’re trying to change that view and help students realize the dangers of tobacco use through things like the state-sponsored “Sweet Deception” marketing strategy.
That initiative shows students how the use of e-cigarettes is unsafe for kids, teens and young adults because the product is addictive and does contain nicotine, something many students don’t understand. While there are just a handful of Eastern Hancock students in the Voice program now, Gilbert thinks that will change.
“We’re really working hard to try and get more kids involved,” Gilbert said. “Students will listen to kids who are their age and they’ll buy-in a little bit more, and that’s what we’re hoping for.”
Gilbert is working with the core group of Eastern Hancock students whose long-term goal is to enlighten their classmates and younger students about the real dangers of tobacco use. The group is even set to speak to the district’s sixth graders about the dangers of smoking and e-cigarettes and how multi-billion dollar tobacco companies are targeting students.
While the students say they’ve banded to inform other students, they also want to be an outlet for their peers.
“If they want to go somewhere to get real information, we have things that we can share and talk to them about,” Castner said. “We don’t want them to feel they are stuck in a cycle with no one to reach out to.”
The Eastern Hancock Voice program was represented earlier this year when a countywide group of teens from the other Voice programs visited the Statehouse and asked law makers to make sure to continue putting forth higher taxes on tobacco makers. The hope is it will detour the companies from targeting kids.
“It was very empowering,” Smithson said of the visit to the Statehouse. “I want a future where there are not so many students involved in smoking and vaping.”
The students feel good about starting the Voice program, saying they’re leaving a legacy behind — making others aware of the harm tobacco use can cause.
“I know kids who might smoke, and they think it’s ‘edgy’ and that they’re not paying a bigger price, but you end up paying a lot more in the long run from the health effects and mental health,” Castner said.
