Press release:
Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable disease, disability and death in New York State; 28,200 lives are lost due to tobacco dependence every year.
New York State (NYS) Tobacco Control Programs (TCP) have been proven to reduce youth smoking and help current smokers quit, which saves lives and millions of state tax dollars. However, higher rates of smoking persist among individuals with less than a high school education (22.4 percent), income less than $25,000 a year (22.2 percent) and those with poor mental health (27.2 percent).
“We’ve made great strides in combatting the tobacco epidemic, but more work needs to be done to reduce the significantly higher smoking rates among disparate populations in our region and throughout the state,” said Shelly Wolanske, Youth Engagement Coordinator at Tobacco-Free Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming counties. (GLOW).
That’s the message Tobacco-Free GLOW and Reality Check youth delivered last month to state lawmakers in Albany. Participating in the legislative visits were: Xandria Jackson, Chloe Schmitter, Melissa Park, Kailie DeWald and Paula Hernandez, all students at LeRoy Junior-Senior High School. They met with Senator Michael Ranzenhofer, Assemblyman Mike Norris and Assemblyman Stephen Hawley.
Annually, the group visits the New York State Capitol to educate lawmakers about the success of established tobacco control programs and opportunities to further reduce the burden of tobacco addiction on New Yorkers. They described the valuable work being done in the GLOW region to reduce smoking rates and to keep youth from starting smoking, which begins at 13 years old, on average.
