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Tobacco-Free GLOW awarded $325,000 contract, now has Batavia office

By Billie Owens

Tobacco-Free Genesee, Livingston, Orleans, and Wyoming Program (Tobacco-Free GLOW) has opened an office in Batavia to begin its five-year contract with first-year funding of $325,000. The contract from the New York State Department of Health, Bureau of Tobacco Control is one of three contracts awarded to Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) and will be administered under the direction of Anthony Billoni.

The Roswell Park tobacco-free programs support efforts to locally engage community stakeholders and youth in changing policies and norms about tobacco and tobacco use. Tobacco-Free GLOW will be operated by Community Engagement coordinator Kevin Keenan and Reality Check Youth Engagement coordinator Angela DiRosa.

"With their extensive contacts and experience in tobacco control, Kevin and Angela will be local leaders as we strive to create healthier communities in Genesee, Livingston, Orleans, and Wyoming counties," Billoni said.

"I'm excited to continue my work in tobacco control and look forward to engaging local community leaders and the public to strengthen tobacco-related policies that prevent and reduce tobacco use," Keenan said.

DiRosa, a lifelong resident of Genesee County, added, "I have been so privileged to be involved with the many successes that the tobacco control program has had over the last several years. This is a unique opportunity to help my home community minimize the influence of tobacco so our friends and families can live in healthier lives."

The Tobacco-Free Erie-Niagara (TF-EN) Program and the Tobacco-Free Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany Program (TF-CCA) also will be administered by Roswell Park through five-year contracts from NYS Department of Health, Bureau of Tobacco Control.

Andrew Hyland, Ph.D, chair of the Department of Health Behavior at RPCI said "Roswell Park has a long history of leading national and regional tobacco control efforts. These contracts provide an opportunity to continue those efforts in an efficient way that employs local leaders as they strive to prevent youth smoking and create tobacco-free communities throughout Western New York."
 
The primary goals of the tobacco control programs are to:

  • Reduce the impact of retail tobacco marketing on youth by educating communities about the manipulative marketing tactics of the tobacco industry;
  • Establish tobacco-free community norms through clean outdoor air policies by working with communities to create more smoke-free parks, playgrounds and beaches;
  • Lessen secondhand smoke exposure by working with landlords and tenants to implement smoke-free housing policies in multi-unit dwellings.
  • Diminish tobacco imagery in youth-rated movies by working for change in the rating system to require an R rating for movies that contain smoking imagery.
  • Decrease tobacco-industry presence on social media by working with stakeholders and internet sites to enact and adhere to policies that protect youth from tobacco imagery.

All counties in New York State now have the resources of a community engagement program and a Reality Check youth action program through the Bureau of Tobacco Control. These contracts build on previous tobacco control funded work which supports the region's public health efforts and provides more comprehensive programing across the state.

david spaulding

now that my friends is how you create jobs........ tell me how kevin and angela are going to "change in the rating system to require an R rating for movies that contain smoking imagery." sheesh, tell me how they are going to accomplish any of these goals.................. waste of money, but the payroll does bring in tax dollars eh ?

Oct 24, 2014, 5:16pm Permalink
Mark Potwora

I got to agree Dave cigarettes are legal...But we need to spend 325,000 dollars to stop someone from doing something that is legal...They can't control people using drugs and now they think they are going to stop people smoking..Way to create 2 new jobs New York....The system is nothing more than a feel good joke..

Oct 24, 2014, 8:24pm Permalink
Greg Rada

It's not a matter of total control and dominance over people's choice to smoke. It's about providing proper education, preventing unwarranted solicitation to the youth, creating healthy and safe environments for our children. I am in total support of them and can't wait to see the good they bring to our community.

Oct 24, 2014, 9:49pm Permalink
alvin tufts

It is already illegal to smoke in parks and playgrounds. Wouldn't the money go further giving it to the health dept. or another appropriate organization for the same marketing plan. Instead of wasting money on rent for some new place.

Oct 25, 2014, 6:30am Permalink
david spaulding

Alvin, I'm sure there are a lot of better ways to spend this money. They took that money from you and me and everyone else who pays taxes. Now if they did not take it from us, we could figure out the best way to spend our money. Personally I get to spend my hard earned money after the government takes what they feel is theirs and I struggle to pay the bills most of us have, it is almost impossible to put money away to save. Then I get to read the stories of how these government agencies piss away the money they took from most of us.

Oct 25, 2014, 4:04pm Permalink
david spaulding

I am still baffled as to what these people are going to do when they come to work. new office, order computers? get internet service? need to get new computer phones? and ? now what? go to the movies to see if any characters are smoking and if they are, make sure there is an R rating? will Kevin and Angela be giving a monthly report as to what they have accomplished? I'll bet they can make a career out of this....... come back in twenty years................
however if they can stop one person from smoking cigarettes, I guess the monies are well spent.......eh Genesse County?

Oct 25, 2014, 4:16pm Permalink

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