How High Schoolers Took on Big Tobacco and Won

Could we imagine a world in which nicotine products did not exist? Could such a world be shaped by teens working together to make it happen, and what might that mean for public health? 25-year-old Raven Twilling, Program Coordinator for Bay Area Community Resources in Marin County, discusses how she has helped organize teens to make nicotine products illegal to sell in two California towns. She shares her journey from noticing vaping trends in high school to studying public health and working in her current role. Raven highlights recent successful initiatives, including complete bans on the sale of commercial tobacco and nicotine products in Ross and Tiburon, California. Most importantly, she explains how young people played a central role in these efforts and how listening to this episode with young people may spark interest in civic action and advocacy. Resources Bay Area Community Resources Marin County Tobacco Prevention Program Public Health Law Center Truth Initiative (educational content) Marin Youth Advocacy Committee KickIt California (free quit support for anyone in CA 13+) Tiburon News Article Ross News Article Board of Supervisors (Marin Unincorporated) News Article Time Code 00:00 Introduction to Raven and BACR 00:16 Raven's Journey into Nicotine Prevention 01:38 Current Work and Responsibilities at BACR 02:46 Policy Advocacy and Recent Wins 03:51 Arguments for Nicotine Product Bans 06:13 Youth Involvement and Community Impact 07:51 Process of Implementing Local Laws 11:44 Marin County's Recent Policy Changes 25:58 Challenges and Enforcement Issues 27:11 Encouraging Youth Involvement 28:36 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

You can listen to How High Schoolers Took on Big Tobacco and Won online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

How High Schoolers Took on Big Tobacco and Won is an episode from Screenagers Podcast by Delaney Ruston.

This episode is 29:23 long.

This episode was published on Feb 9, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Screenagers Podcast when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.