Survey
Local News
 on February 19, 2026
Above is a slide from the Union County Health Department’s presentation to the North Union School Board, which shows percentages of survey data from students at the school based on their reported use of tobacco products in the last 30 days. The percentages in red depict students who reported using the listed product 1-2 times while the yellow percentages show students who used the product more than three times. (Graphic submitted)

Survey shows high tobacco use among NU students

By By Kyle Meddles, Richwood Gazette 

 

New youth survey results revealed that students from the North Union School District registered higher than other areas of the county in smoking and tobacco use.

The result has unfortunately become a trend in recent years with the district addressing issues with vaping and smoking in the past.

“Our tobacco use is out of whack compared to the rest of the county,” board member Matt Staley said.

At the regular meeting of the board of education on Monday, Mary Salimbene Merriman, an epidemiologist at the Union County Health Department, presented the findings from the 2024 Ohio Healthy Youth Environments Survey (OHYES!) to the board. The survey offers statistics from students in grades 7-12 on a multitude…

Read this entire article as it appeared in print in our eEdition

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