Albany County is currently considering Local Law No. “E” for 2019 that would restrict the sale of flavored tobacco products to retail stores for which a person must be aged 21 or over to enter. Tobacco products as defined in the proposed law include electronic smoking devices, cigars and cigarillos, as well as smokeless tobacco, and flavors would include all characterizing (i.e., recognizable) flavors including menthol.

The availability of tobacco products in candy and fruit flavors has fueled the popularity of little cigars and e-cigarettes among youth. In 2018, more than one in four NYS high school students used electronic smoking devices and the overall rate of youth tobacco use increased 44% since 2010 to nearly 1 in 3 high school students. Additionally, menthol makes it easier for new tobacco users to become addicted and harder for them to quit.

Read proposed Local Law No. “E”

Learn more about the impact of flavored tobacco products on youth. 
Learn more about the impact of menthol on the African American community.

Theresa Zubretsky, CDTFC’s Community Engagement Coordinator, who has been assisting local schools address their concerns with widespread vaping, talked with Benita Zahn for  WNYT’s Health Beat on Vaping. View the interview online here and learn why the youth vaping epidemic  can seriously undermine the progress that has been made to reduce tobacco use.

Theresa Zubretsky, Community Engagement Coordinator here at CDTFC, talked with Asa Stackel on WNYT’s Forum 13 to share the good news and the bad news related to youth tobacco use. Check out the interview online here and learn what YOU need to know about how to protect Capital District young people from the harms caused by tobacco use.

Thank you to the Rensselaer County Legislature for proclaiming Saturday, October 13 as Seen Enough Tobacco Day. Above, students from Columbia and Tech Valley High Schools accept the resolution at the October 9 legislative meeting on behalf of Reality Check, with Cara Zampi, RC Coordinator standing by.

On Seen Enough Tobacco (SET) Day, teens from the Capital District will showcase their unique talents to demonstrate through song, dance and art the ways in which they have “Seen Enough Tobacco” in their communities. The event will include games, giveaways and face painting; Girls Inc. will conduct hands-on experiments to show the harmful effects of tobacco use.

Join us on Saturday, October 13, 1:00 – 3:00pm at the Troy Boys & Girls Club, 1700 7th Avenue, for an afternoon of fun, learning and community action.

This free event is a community collaboration of Reality Check, the Albany and Troy Boys & Girls Clubs, Girls Inc. Eureka! STEM program, Capital District Tobacco-Free Communities and RAW GEN. Through the generous support of St. Peter’s Health Partners, a free meal will follow the event.

It’s official! A local law passed by the Albany County Legislature in May to end the sale of tobacco in pharmacies and stores that contain a pharmacy was signed by Albany County Executive Dan McCoy late last week and will become law in 90 days.

Implementation of this new law will decrease the number of tobacco retailers in Albany County by 10%, eliminate the mixed messages to consumers about the dangers of tobacco products, and make it easier for smokers to quit and for pharmacists to promote health. Thank you, Albany County, for putting health first.

Read more in the Times Union or on WRGB.