TTC Coalition and YAAB members attend Topsfield’s ECDC meeting

Tri-Town Council’s (TTC) Coalition—a community collaborative focused on preventing and reducing youth substance use—recently attended Topsfield’s Economic and Community Development Committee (ECDC). The ECDC, a committee of local business owners chaired by Topsfield SelectBoard member Michelle Mercier-Link, has a mission of helping to enhance Topfield's “economic infrastructure and downtown vitality by supporting planning, implementation, and communication efforts with the goal of generating greater economic opportunity and improving the overall quality of downtown Topsfield.”  

Coalition member Meredith Shaw and Youth Action Advisory Board (YAAB) members Neva Partal and Ayla Geraghty-Sari attended the meeting to share information about a Coalition initiative: Nicotine Free Generation (NFG). NFG is a local policy that aims to protect youth from early nicotine use and addiction. By ending the sale of tobacco and nicotine products to those born after a specific date, this gradual phaseout of nicotine product sales over time would have three primary effects: limit youth access; minimize the allure of vaping and smoking by older peers; and free future generations from the harms of being hooked on nicotine products. 

Since the dawn of the commercial market, big tobacco companies have used the same manipulative marketing tactics to appeal to youth, hooking new users and creating lifelong customers. “The base of our business is the high school student.” (Lorillard, 1978). And tobacco companies are always innovating—creating new products to appeal to youth—while at the same time compromising youth health and well-being. Many Massachusetts cities and towns, such as Wakefield, Stoneham, Melrose, Reading, Winchester, and Somerville, have taken a stand to protect youth and adopted the Nicotine Free Generation policy.

If adopted in Topsfield, the Nicotine Free Generation Policy will hold the tobacco companies accountable and protect youth from ever being hooked on nicotine. The Coalition and YAAB will be requesting time at an upcoming Topsfield Board of Health meeting to talk with the Board about adopting this policy in Topsfield.  

Want to learn more or be involved in this effort? Access more info here: Nicotine Free Generation and here: How to Get Involved. Do you have a tween or teen who wants to advocate for a nicotine free generation? There are lots of ways for youth to be involved!  Access resources here: Youth Advocacy for Nicotine Free Generation.