At 16, a Jefferson City girl has already started lobbying.
As Missouri's only youth representative, Emily Thomeczek participated in the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids' Youth Symposium in Washington, D.C. The four-day conference provided her with education training on the dangers of tobacco use and coaching on how to talk to politicians about related concerns. The Helias junior and participants from 20 states practiced before talking to their representatives through role playing and practicing their talking points.
"They told me that they were just people and we just needed to relax. ... When we went, we had a topic we could always go back to," said Thomeczek, the vice-president of Tobacco Free Missouri Youth.
Though Thomeczek said U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill and U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer were busy and unable to meet her, she discussed her concerns about the tobacco industry with members of their staff. She said it was "cool" to inform professionals older than her about how the tobacco industry targets young people.
"Both of my meetings went exceptionally well," Thomeczek said. "They couldn't have gone any better. They were both really supportive and amazed. ... They were all totally amazed that these 16-year-olds were there and in their offices and so educated."
She said the tobacco industry uses bright colors, fruit flavors and cheap prices to lure youth to buying e-cigarettes, e-cigars and cigarillos.
"It's a cheap ploy to get kids to buy," Thomeczek said.
To stop these marketing tactics, Thomeczek said the Food and Drug Administration's ability to regulate tobacco products cannot be undermined. She said she talked to congressional staffers about her concern over a proposal that would impede the FDA's power to review e-cigarettes and cigars on the market.
John Schachter, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids director of state communications, said the tobacco industry spends about $9.6 billion annually in advertising, which is directed toward youth. Because the FDA hasn't regulated e-cigarettes, those companies are allowed to advertise through celebrity endorsements, sponsored concerts and race cars, he added.
The national tobacco-free campaign targets young people, Schachter said, noting a past document from a tobacco company that called youth "replacement smokers" for those who quit smoking or die from it.
"There's no greater advocates than youth," he said. "They're taking control of their health message to the industry."
Thomeczek's interest in campaigning against tobacco started years ago, she said, when she lived in Hannibal. Her mother was a member of an anti-tobacco group and Thomeczek followed suit. She also became involved in the youth program, Smoke Busters. She watched her mother speak at health fairs, informing people about tobacco statistics and facts.
"It made me never want to open myself up to these chemicals," Thomeczek said.
She said she learned the dangerous health effects of smoking at age 12, when her grandfather died from congestive heart failure as a result of smoking.
"When you lose someone that passed away from the number one most preventable cause of death in America, you start to understand that this can be prevented, he didn't have to die this early," she said. "You get motivated to change that so other people don't have to go through the same loss."