Franklin students lobby for raising tobacco age

By Scott Calzolaio
MetroWest Daily NewsPosted Mar 30, 2018 at 6:39 PM

FRANKLIN – One group of Franklin High School girls is a leading youth voice in state government’s decision to raise the tobacco age to 21.

The pending Tobacco21 bill would raise the legal age to purchase tobacco products to 21, an issue that a group of Franklin students has been lobbying for since last year. Currently, about 180 municipalities across Massachusetts have already made this change. The legislation will force all 351 cities and towns on board.

The students returned to the Statehouse again on Wednesday, but with a much more active role. They filmed and showed a video of their testimonies, before a formal ceremony in front of a large audience at the bottom of the grand staircase in the Statehouse.

Advocates, legislators, senators, and others gathered to hear the Franklin High Students plead their case for this bill.

Seeing children and teenagers from the community that he represents at the Statehouse advocating for change is inspiring, said state Rep. Jefferey Roy, D-Franklin. He said he is willing to do everything he can to make sure their voices are heard.

Franklin High School junior Teerithveen Pasricha was at the Statehouse last year and this year advocating for the bill. Their presence, she said, is most certainly making an impact.

“This bill will directly affect us, so that’s why we feel like we should be involved in making the change,” she said.

Many of the students brought with them stories of family losses they’ve endured and the suffering they’ve seen because of tobacco.

According to their presentation, 95 percent of lifelong smokers started before the age of 21. They pointed out that the health care associated with smoking costs the commonwealth about $4.1 billion annually, and $1.26 billion to the Mass Health budget, a shocking realization for Roy.

“There are economic impacts that I don’t think a lot of people think about, and they belong as a part of this discussion,” Roy said. “It’s nice to see our school system is preparing engaged and responsible people by giving them an opportunity to express themselves.”

The idea, Pasricha said, is to stop smokers before they start.

“A lot of people don’t know what’s going on in the Statehouse, or about he laws being passed,” she said. “So, I think it’s important that we’re getting our message out to the community.”

The group of Franklin high school girls has been doing volunteer work for the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network for about two years now.

“They’ve been very passionate activists on behalf of the bill,” Roy said. “I remember them coming in to see me last year to talk about it. After talking to them, I immediately signed on and became a co-sponsor.”

Impressed by their dedication to the subject, Roy sees a bright future and hopes the group can convince those who don’t believe they can enact change in their society to step up.

“This is the world they’re going to inherit,” he said. “It’s nice to see young leaders emerging from our community.”

Scott Calzolaio can be reached at [email protected] or 508-734-0389. Follow him on Twitter @ScottCaz.