WHAT’S NEW
New Report: City of Schenectady Licensed Tobacco Retailers Disproportionately Located in High Poverty Neighborhoods
Children living in high poverty neighborhoods with the least number of resources have the greatest exposure to tobacco marketing. We saw this first-hand during our most recent round of Licensed Tobacco Retailer store observations in the City of Schenectady. Of the 53 Licensed Tobacco Retailers (LTRs) located within 1500' of a school in Schenectady County, 72% (38) are located in the City of Schenectady. Of these 38 stores, 35 are located in zip codes in which only 42.5% of the county population lives and that also have the highest poverty rates—12303, 12304, 12305 and 12307. On October 25, we gathered data through in person observations at 31 licensed tobacco retailers (LTRs) located within 1500’ of one or more schools in zip codes 12303, 12304, 12305 and 12307. Through our observations we found that there are 10...
Take a visual tour of the local tobacco marketing landscape
Tobacco ads and displays are so ubiquitous, most non-smoking adults don’t even notice them. But once you DO notice, you’ll wonder how you could possibly have missed them. Noticing how pervasive and aggressive tobacco marketing is also makes it easier to understand why it has such a profound impact on adult and youth tobacco use. That’s why we chose to summarize the findings from our most recent round of Licensed Tobacco Retailer store observations into a visual tour of what tobacco marketing and promotion actually looks like in the City of Albany’s highest poverty neighborhoods. These neighborhoods have a disproportionate number of tobacco retailers as compared to lower poverty neighborhoods and that means there is also a disproportionate presence of tobacco marketing and promotion. In addition to tobacco product displays that typically...
New York Celebrates 20th Anniversary of the Clean Indoor Air Act
Gen Z’ers have never known the ritual of renting a movie at Blockbuster, burning a CD or having to develop film before you can view a photo. Such is the power of technological progress. New York State Gen Z’ers have also never known the ritual of being asked “Smoking or non-smoking?” upon entering enter a restaurant, nor have they worked a part-time or summer job in a smoke-filled environment. Such is the power of tobacco-control progress. July 24, 2023, marked the 20th anniversary of New York state’s Clean Indoor Air Act (CIAA), a law that transformed nearly all indoor workplaces, including bars and restaurants, into smoke-free environments and provided protection for all workers from the health consequences associated with secondhand smoke exposure. Improved health for hospitality workers was immediate, with particularly notable...