Students gather in Fargo for nicotine-free youth summit

FARGO — Fargo Cass Public Health and Tobacco Free North Dakota brought about 90 students from the eastern part of the state together in Fargo on Wednesday, Oct. 7, for the eighth annual "Break Free Youth Action Summit." The goal is to give teens the tools to help build a nicotine-free generation and make their voices heard. According to the 2025 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 17% of North Dakota high school students use a tobacco or nicotine product. The summit helped students practice leadership skills and develop ways to address those issues in their own communities. "We want them to be able to feel that power, feel that strength, feel that confidence, and be able to then kind of collectively come together and work for the change that they want to see," said Kristy Packer, a youth training coordinator from California. Organizers say past participants have already put their ideas into action, including students at Fargo North who started a prevention club af