Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley presents second annual Tobacco Prevention Summit

SANTA MARIA VALLEY, Calif. – Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley presented its second annual countywide Tobacco Prevention Summit on Tuesday in Buellton.

“This is a chance for us to come together as a county and start looking strategically at what we can do to keep these products out of the hands of children and youth," said Edwin Weaver with Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley.

Organizers said the event welcomed teachers, administrators, law enforcement, parents, college students and other youth serving agencies to learn about tobacco prevention.

“A lot of parents aren't really familiar with what the youth substance scene might look like today," said Samantha Yruegas with Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley.

The event focused on spreading awareness of "new and emerging tobacco and cannabis trends targeting youth, local policies and policy efforts, available services, tobacco marketing tactics in our community, personal stories, school trends and local data," according to organizers.

“Today's electronic cigarettes are much harder to identify than the old cigarettes," said Renata Valladares with Santa Barbara County Public Health.

Guest speakers at the event included representatives from Tobacco-Free Kids, The Loop, Public Health: Tobacco Program, University of California Santa Barbara, American Lung Association and the Guadalupe Police Department.

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