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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | September 8, 2023 02:36 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Steven R. Malagari and Rep. Russ Diamond |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Adopting a Public Health Approach to Tobacco Use in Schools |
| According to the American Heart Association, nearly 20 percent of high school students and 5 percent of middle school students use e-cigarettes – a total of more than 3.5 million teens. This epidemic of teen tobacco usage leads millions of young people to cut their life expectancies significantly and become susceptible to several debilitating health conditions. While Pennsylvania has long taken a penal approach to addressing smoking and tobacco use in schools, organizations like the American Heart Association have found that avoiding punitive discipline and focusing on alternatives to suspension can have three times the benefit over our current system in promoting academic outcomes and health quality. To better align Pennsylvania with these recommendations, I will be introducing legislation that will require school boards and directors to establish tobacco prohibition policies that do not include suspension, expulsion, fines, service fees or withholding participation in extracurricular activities. Instead, school boards and directors should offer cessation supports or referrals to cessation experts or programs to students and ensure that law enforcement and school resource officers are not playing a role in student discipline for violations of the policy. Please join me in co-sponsoring this legislation to adopt a more supportive and evidence-based approach that better serves our young people and gives them the tools to quit. |
Introduced as HB1920