CULVER, Ind. (WNDU) – Students as young as third graders are getting their hands on a vape in our area.

This sobering news came from the Indiana State Health Commissioner in Marshall County on Tuesday. But this is also where students agree not to vape.

According to the state health websiteabout 20% of Hoosier high school students used e-cigarettes in 2021. That’s why efforts are being made to get kids to understand early on that smoking is a dangerous and bad decision.

Culver Elementary fourth graders learned about the dangers of nicotine products, including vapes and cigarettes.

Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb and Indiana State Health Commissioner Dr. Lindsay Weaver stopped by the school Tuesday to applaud their goal of living smoke-free lives.

“Because they’re smaller, they’re easier to hide, they don’t have that smell, kids pick them up,” Dr. Weaver said. “So we always want to start before they become addicted. So talking to them about harm now, in fourth grade, is the perfect time to do it.

Governor Holcomb said the state-funded program “Health first” brings education and resources to schools like Culver to reduce smoking rates statewide.

“This is where the rubber meets the road, and this is where change is going to happen in a positive way,” Governor Holcomb said. “The needle will move in the years to come. This is a long-term survey, and it took us a while to get to where we are ranked. But we’ll start to see the needle move as more and more young people never pick up the habit.

And students even had fun with the message by designing T-shirts to wear for Governor Holcomb’s visit.

“They made it a competition, which is great for stimulating conversation and getting young kids talking about how cool it is to not start smoking or vaping,” Gov. Holcomb said.

“It says clean air zone. No Smoking. No vaping,” said Kynedi Ogle, a fourth grader whose design won.

A message that Governor Holcomb said he prays is spreading.

“When you have a fourth grader advocating for vaping, there’s nothing cooler than that,” he said.

Copyright 2024 WNDU. All rights reserved.