Forum focused on preventing tobacco use among youth
CLEARLAKE >> This week's guest at the Thursday morning judge's breakfast was Liberty Francis, the Health Program Coordinator at Lake County Health Services. Francis spoke about the tobacco program, which she has been focused on for the past five years.
For 20 years prior to her current position Francis worked for the Konocti Unified School District and Lake County Office of Education. Native to Lake County and a graduate of Lower Lake High School, Francis is now raising her own family here, and several years ago lost her father to COPD (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). He had smoked several packs a day for the majority of his life and died on oxygen, which had a profound effect on Francis. She said, “This is where my passion lies, I want to create the first generation of tobacco free kids in Lake County.”
Francis outlined the program's strategy in three steps: “Eliminate the temptation, eliminate the peer pressure, eliminate the factors they are exposed to in life that turn them to the addiction of nicotine,” she said adding that their approach includes talking about tobacco waste and how it effects the environment, building back youth coalitions which are making a comeback after COVID, and lastly the program intends to continue the conversation and education on flavored tobacco products and how they encourage youth use.
Currently Lake County sits at 56 out of 58 in the state health score, an improve- ment from last year's ranking of last place. Although Lake County has very clean air, the county has higher than average rates for asthma and COPD, suggesting there are other factors that have led to higher rates of tobacco use.
Francis also shared data from their anonymous healthy kids survey where almost 70 percent of eleventh graders responded that they have instant access to purchasing these products without an I.D. According to Francis, it's not just high school kids, or even middle school, but vapes have been confiscated from students as young as the third-grade level. Despite policies and laws that require any person purchasing tobacco products must be at least 21 years of age with proper identification, kids can still buy it. The last sting operation held in Lake was in 2016 in which all six locations tested failed and were subsequently fined. Recent legislative changes have taken candy-like flavors off the market, but enforcement is up to local authorities.
This year Health Services began a pilot program called Escape the Vape, a 12-week course at Upper Lake High School designed to help kids stop vaping. Kids can get referred to the program as an alternative to suspension or attend voluntarily as they promote the class as a safe place, where there is no judgement. The course is designed with six weeks of education and six weeks of cessation. The project is a collaboration with Upper Lake High School, Behavioral Health Services and Tribal Health and Francis. She said they look forward to working with other schools to expand the program especially into the lower grade levels including elementary. At the elementary level, instead of working directly with the atrisk students, Francis opts to work with the school administrator in order to work directly with the parents. Francis added, “The parents need support. They don't know what to do. They maybe use tobacco products themselves and it may be hard for them to communicate with their children because their kids are gonna go `But you do it!'”
Dr. Becky Solano agreed that this issue is far worse than is known, and that the kids' health survey reflects that in its inaccuracy because it's more like 90 percent of students using vapes. Francis responded that Tribal health recently received a grant where they can refer patients to quit using tobacco with the help of the cessation program. She reinforced her ideas that the support needs to come from within the system, from schools and doctors.
The Thursday morning judges breakfast is held every Thursday morning in the Clearlake Senior Center at 7 a.m. and offers a full breakfast, now including waffles, with options beginning at $5 dollars. More information can be found on their Facebook page.