A Lakeland High School student is on a crusade to convince the Suffolk School Board to make its tobacco-free policy even more stringent.

Hunter Turley is a member of Y Street, a teen volunteer program that is part of the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth.

Lakeland received a grant to have foundation staff work with students on becoming healthier, including encouraging students not to smoke.

“Most individuals who use tobacco products started before they were 18,” said Gerod Blue, a staff member for Y Street. If students can be encouraged not to start using tobacco while they’re still in high school, “Most likely they’ll never start,” Blue added.

Hunter became a volunteer after the Y Street presentation at the school. His father smokes, he said.

“I’m trying to get him to quit,” he said. “I thought this would be a cool campaign to join.”

Hunter spoke at the December School Board meeting to urge the School Board to adopt a stricter anti-tobacco policy.

Currently, the division’s policy restricts smoking, chewing or any other use of tobacco products by staff and students on school property. However, it also gives the superintendent authority to provide for designated smoking areas on school grounds outside buildings.

Students are prohibited from possessing tobacco on school property, including school buses, or during school activities.

School employees are prohibited from using tobacco while in the presence of students on school property or while participating in a school sponsored activity.

However, in order to be comprehensive, the policy needs some tweaks, Hunter told the School Board.

He asked the officials to remove the designated smoking areas, include on- and off-site school events in the prohibition, require consequences for visitors who violate the policy and treat electronic cigarettes the same as regular cigarettes.

Hunter also requested announcements at sporting events asking everyone present to refrain from using tobacco.

“It it’s not enforced, nobody’s going to listen,” Hunter said.

Hunter said his principal, Douglas Wagoner, has been supportive and agreed to put up signs informing all visitors that the school is a tobacco-free campus.

The School Board has not yet had time to act on Hunter’s requests.