WHAT’S NEW
NYS Adult Smoking Rate Falls Below 10%
The prevalence of cigarette smoking among New York adults fell to 9.3%, marking the first time the rate has dropped below 10% since smoking rate surveillance began. The data comes from Cigarette Smoking New York State Adults, 2023, an updated reported recently released by the New York State Department of Health. In 2000, when the New York State Tobacco Control Program was established, the adult smoking rate in New York was 23.2%. “This is reason to celebrate as cigarette smoking is a leading cause of preventable death and disease in our state,” said Jeanie Orr, Director of Capital District Tobacco-Free Communities. “Unfortunately, there is real concern that the progress made over the past quarter century will be more difficult to sustain because of federal program and funding cuts.” Read the entire press...
Art for Earth’s Sake: Students Tackle Tobacco Waste Through Creativity
For the second year in a row, we’ve had the privilege of teaming up with the talented students of local high schools to spotlight an urgent issue that affects our communities and environment: tobacco waste. This year we expanded to other Capital Region schools including Bethlehem High School, Schenectady High School, Evolve program of Watervliet High School and Albany High School. This collaborative project invites students to use their artistic voice and creative lens to design compelling posters that highlight the environmental impact of cigarette litter and tobacco waste. From discarded cigarette butts polluting sidewalks and waterways to the long-lasting damage they cause to ecosystems, these student-made visuals are more than just posters, they are a call to action. This year’s artwork was proudly displayed on the digital...
Removing Tobacco Waste, One Butt at a Time
This Earth Day, our community came together to take action against one of the most littered items on the planet—tobacco waste. Cigarette butts may be small, but they’re toxic to our environment, often ending up in our waterways and harming wildlife. That’s why we organized a tobacco litter cleanup. In less than an hour, we managed to fill an entire container with cigarette butts and tobacco-related waste. That’s hundreds—if not thousands—of toxic items removed from our streets, parks, and natural spaces.
To the left is a typical tobacco product display. If you don’t use tobacco, you may not even notice, but kids do. Kids see. Kids notice. Kids remember. In fact, kids are more than twice as likely as adults to notice and remember retail tobacco marketing.