April 2019 Volume 8, Issue 4

Transcription

1 April 2019 Volume 8, Issue 4 The Southern Tier Tobacco Awareness Coalition (STTAC) seeks to build healthier communities through tobacco-free living in Chemung, Schuyler, & Steuben, NY.

2 2019 STTAC Community Survey Results The Southern Tier Tobacco Awareness Coalition (STTAC) is releasing the results of the 2019 Community Tobacco Survey. This survey uses land-line and cellular phone random sampling of adult residents in the New York counties of Chemung, Schuyler, and Steuben. It is completed once every two years, with a goal of collecting tobacco-related information from adult residents. The data is intended to be used by STTAC to plan and educate locally on tobacco-related initiatives, as well as evaluate and assess the impact and effectiveness of past initiatives. In 2019, the study included telephone interviews of 1,206 adults completed during the month of January, with approximately 400 interviews completed in each of the three counties. The survey instrument was constructed with 30 survey questions, organized in six separate sections of tobacco-related attitude, opinion, and behavior survey items. A sample of the findings from the survey are listed below. If you would like to access the full survey, contact STTAC at (607) or sarahrobbins@chemungcountyny.gov.

3 Southern Tier Reality Check Youth Create a Mural at the Arnot Mall

4 Kick Butts Day is a national day of activism that empowers youth to stand up, speak out, and seize control against Big Tobacco by exposing their manipulative marketing tactics. This year, Reality Check youth of the Southern Tier in Chemung, Schuyler, and Steuben Counties joined forces to create a painted mural at the Arnot Mall. proclaiming that they are not replacement smokers for the tobacco industry. The mural features a quote from the tobacco company, R.J. Reynolds that states, Younger adult smokers are the only source of replacement smokers. The mural then highlights the responses of local Reality Check youth: I am not a replacement. I am... a best friend, leader, and a sister. The goal of the mural is to educate local youth and motivate them to take a stand. I hope that they understand what Big Tobacco is trying to do, says Ernie Davis Academy Reality Check student, Emma Pack. I hope they also take a stand with us, like we re doing, and call it out. It s not okay.

5 The average age of a new smoker in New York State is 13 years old, and 90 percent of adult smokers say that they first tried smoking before the age of 18. So, in honor of Kick Butts Day, youth all across the country will host local events to raise awareness of the tobacco industry s deceptive and manipulative marketing tactics. According to a U.S. Surgeon General s report, the more young people see tobacco marketing, the more likely they are to start smoking. Now is the time to take a stand and eliminate tobacco marketing and advertising in places where youth can see it. Sources: Local Students Pledge to be Tobacco-Free! Students at Ernie Davis Academy, Odessa Montour High School, and Watkins Glen High School united against tobacco use on March 20 as they joined

6 thousands of young people nationwide to mark Kick Butts Day, an annual day of youth activism sponsored by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. More than 1,000 events were planned across the United States. This year, kids are focused on kicking Juul, the e-cigarette that has become enormously popular among youth across the country. Students committed to being tobacco-free and encouraged their peers and loved ones to quit smoking by constructing and signing a pledge banner. While cigarette smoking among high school students nationwide has fallen to 8.1 percent, e-cigarette use among high schoolers rose by an alarming 78 percent in 2018 alone to 20.8 percent of the student population. In 2018, more than 3.6 million middle and high school students used e-cigarettes. U.S. public health leaders have called youth e-cigarette use an "epidemic" that is addicting a new generation of kids. In New York, 27.4 percent of high school students use e-cigarettes, while 4.8 percent smoke cigarettes. Tobacco use claims 28,200 lives in New York and costs the state $10.39 billion in health care bills each year. On Kick Butts Day, youth and health advocates are calling for strong action to reverse the youth e-cigarette epidemic. In particular, they are calling on the Food and Drug Administration, states and cities to ban all flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarettes in flavors like cotton candy, gummy bear and mango that tempt kids. Other effective strategies to reduce youth tobacco use include laws raising the tobacco sale age to 21, significant tobacco tax increases, comprehensive smoke-free laws and well-funded tobacco prevention programs. If you are interested in getting involved, contact the Reality Check coordinator, Samantha White at (607) or spwhite@chemungcountyny.gov. Sources:

7 STTAC Hosts Neighborhood Conversations About the Impact of Tobacco on Local Lives and Communities On March 11th, STTAC hosted the first of two neighborhood conversations in partnership with the Elmira Economic Opportunity Program, Inc (EOP). The focus of the conversations revolve around how tobacco impacts lives and communities in the City of Elmira. The first event was well attended, with all 10 participant spots filled. Some participants, such as members of the local group, Man 2 Man Forum, look forward to continuing the conversations and partnering in the future. Thank you to the Man 2 Man Forum! Do you live in the City of Elmira? Join the next conversation to help us understand how tobacco is impacting you, your family, and your community. To thank you for your time, we will provide dinner, $15 gift cards, and a chance to win a raffle basket. If you are interested, call (607) and reserve your spot, space is

8 limited! Local Reality Check Update

9 As the weather is slowly starting to heat up, so are our activities with Reality Check! Kick Butts Day was a success in March with our mural painting at the Arnot Mall and our pledge banner signing at Ernie Davis Academy! Now it is time to set our sights on Earth Day. While most of us know the negative health effects of tobacco use, it may be easy to overlook the detrimental environmental impacts of tobacco. For starters, cigarette butts are the most littered item in the world! That is why upcoming Reality Check meetings will be focused around building our tobaccofree outdoors knowledge. This will help us to be the best educators and advocates that we can be; not just on Earth Day, but all year 'round! Stay tuned to find out what our youth leaders are up to while advocating for their peers and the environment this-coming Earth Day! If you know of any youth in Chemung, Schuyler, or Steuben counties who would be interested in participating in this free youth-leadership program, contact Samantha White at (607) or spwhite@chemungcountyny.gov.

10 WHAT'S HAPPENING THIS MONTH: Monday, April 8th - From 5:30-7:30pm is the final City of Elmira Tobacco- Focused Community Conversation at EOP Thursday, April 25th - STTAC Coalition meeting from 10am-12pm at the Schuyler Shared Services Building City of Elmira Earth Day Clean Ups: Saturday, April 13th - 10am-12pm starting at Wisner Park Saturday, April 20th - 10am-12pm starting at Community Arts of Elmira Saturday, April 27th - 10am-12pm starting at Anne's Pancakes *If you want to learn more about these clean ups, contact us at (607) ! STTAC IN THE NEWS:

11 WENY 3/15/19 - Students paint mural for national Kick Butts Day

12 WETM 3/15/19 - Local students take stand against big tobacco on national "Kick Butts Day"

13 Here in New York State, tobacco companies spend more than a half a million dollars every day to place promotions in stores where kids can see them. And the more they see, the more likely they are to start smoking. TAKE ACTION: CLICK HERE TO SIGN THE PETITION STTAC Contacts Sarah Robbins, Program Director SarahRobbins@chemungcountyny.gov (607) X73480 Michelle Larimore, Community Engagement Coordinator MLarimore@chemungcountyny.gov (607) X73482 Samantha White, Reality Check Coordinator SPWhite@chemungcountyny.gov (607) X73483 Michele Austin, Program Assistant MAustin@chemungcountyny.gov (607) X73481 Our mailing address is: Southern Tier Tobacco Awareness Coalition 103 Washington Street Elmira, NY Want to change how you receive these s? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. Copyright 2018 Southern Tier Tobacco Awareness Coalition, All rights reserved.