Hello, my name is Diego Romero. I am a student at New Mexico State University and have been an adult volunteer with No Minor Sale for two years. Before No Minor Sale, I was a youth advocate on the leadership team with Evolvement for four years. No Minor Sale is a campaign working to reduce the illegal sale of nicotine products to minors. We do this through advocacy and education about how flavored nicotine products impact our community and the future of our world.
One of the major things we are working toward is nicotine flavor restriction. Many people start using these products because they come in flavors that appeal to them. On October 28, I had the opportunity to speak with local officials at the Town of Mesilla Board of Trustees meeting to discuss this issue.
During the meeting, I shared who we are, what we are doing, and what local elected officials can do to help us with our mission. Mesilla is a smaller town that cares deeply about its youth population, and the board members – Mayor Hernandez, Trustee Merrick, Trustee Nevarez, and Trustee Cadena – seemed to genuinely support our work. They asked whether we planned on speaking with legislators during the upcoming legislative session. We let them know that we attend Day at the Capitol every year to advocate for positive change in our state, and that we will do the same this year.
We must continue speaking with our state legislators to encourage them to make changes and pass policies that protect youth. This is especially important to me because, as someone who has grown up around Mesilla and Las Cruces, I want my peers to have a healthy future. Our youth are the most important people we have. They are the ones who will carry forward everything we’ve learned, build on our progress, and create new ideas, innovations, and opportunities. But they can only do that if we protect them from the things that take those opportunities away.
This town meeting is just one of many ways to get involved and help protect my community. I hope this experience encourages others to join No Minor Sale as volunteers, spread awareness, or partner with the campaign.
