FRANKFORT, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Coalition for a Smoke-Free Tomorrow rallied in Frankfort Tuesday, urging lawmakers to pass a statewide ban on tobacco products in public schools.
Officials with the coalition say there has been a surge in young people using e-cigarettes, and it wants lawmakers to pass a statewide ban on tobacco products in schools.
House Bill 11 and Senate Bill 27 would bar the use of tobacco products both on and in property owned by Kentucky school districts.
According to the Food and Drug Administration, 90 percent of tobacco use starts by age 18, and Kentucky's youth tobacco use rates significantly exceed national averages.
In November, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that one in five high school students in the U.S. were vaping.
Kentucky leads the nation in the occurrence of cancer.
Less than half of Kentucky's schools are already smoke-free, including JCPS, but supporters say a statewide law is needed to send a clear message to students.
"We've seen an explosion in the use of e-cigarettes, particularly among white people in Kentucky and across the nation," said Ben Chandler, who is chairman of the Coalition for a Smoke-Free Tomorrow, and president of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky.
"E-cigarettes have spiked by 78 percent in just the last year among high school students, and 48 percent among middle school students."
Shelby Co. High School sophomore Monique Pearson said she has seen it firsthand.
"Lots of them do it to be cool," she said. "Lots of them buy it because other people are buying it. Or lots of them buy it to make profit of it, and sell it."
Health advocates display data showing a dramatic increase in e-cigarette use - or vaping - in recent years.
If the bill becomes law, tobacco use of any kind would be banned on all school properties and events, including vehicles and athletic fields, at all times.
A school tobacco ban passed the Senate last year, but stalled in the House. This year's version is different, because it bans the use, but not the possession of, tobacco products.
Supporters believe those changes will increase the bill's chances of passing this session.
"That seemed to be a sticking point for some folks," said Rep. Kim Moser, chair of the House Health and Family Committee, and sponsor of the bill. "It really is all about tobacco use."
Enforcement of the ban would be up to local school districts.
The bill has picked up support from both the Kentucky School Boards Association and the Association of School Superintendents.
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