reality check

Press Release:

Berry Fusion, Maui Pineapple, and Cherry Dynamite. These are the candy flavors many young ghouls and ghosts will get while trick-or-treating this Halloween. They are also the same flavors our teens see in flavored little cigars and cigarillos marketed alongside candy at convenience stores and gas stations in their communities.

“They may sound like Halloween treats, but in reality they are Big Tobacco’s tricks for getting kids hooked on their products,” says Brittany Bozzer, Reality Check Youth Coordinator for Tobacco-Free Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming Counties (TF-GOW). 

Cigarillos, the more popular product, are short and narrow cigars that usually do not include a filter. Little cigars are the same size and shape as cigarettes, often include a filter, and are packaged in a similar way. Both are taxed differently than cigarettes.

Why flavored cigars are a concern. 

Bozzer and other public health leaders across the GOW region, New York State and the country are particularly concerned with the newest generation of cigars, including brand names like Swisher Sweets, Dutch Masters, Phillies and Black & Milds. A Swisher Sweet cigarillo contains about 10.8 milligrams of nicotine per gram of tobacco. That’s more than a cigarette, which typically average 8 milligrams, and fuels youth addiction.

“Our biggest concern is that the sweet flavors improve the taste and mask the harshness of tobacco, making these products easier to use and more appealing to young people,” says Bozzer. “Flavors in cigars means more youth will start smoking them, progress to become regular users and potentially become addicted.”

According to 2023 study from the Truth Initiative, flavors are a major reason why young people use cigars, with 74% of adolescents who used cigars in the past month indicating that they used them “because they come in flavors I like.”

What they don’t know is that these cigars contain the same addictive, toxic and carcinogenic compounds found in cigarettes. Similar to e-cigarettes, cigars are sometimes marketed as being a healthier alternative to cigarettes but that is untrue. Health risks of flavored cigar smoking include gum disease, cancers of the larynx, esophagus and lungs, with daily cigar smokers having an increased risk of heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Co-use of cigarillos and marijuana. 

Studies show that many young people use cigarillos as “blunts,” a term for a cigar emptied of its tobacco and replaced with marijuana. Brands like Backwoods (Imperial Tobacco Brands LLC) even have product features, like honey, Russian creme and dark stout flavors, that enhance the blunt smoking experience as featured in the brand’s Instagram posts. Researchers believe this co-use behavior may play a role in promoting increased tobacco use and nicotine dependence.

Marketing to youth.

As new flavored cigars flood the marketplace, tobacco companies market them in bright, colorful packaging mimicking candy which threatens our teens, as well as New York State’s efforts to reduce tobacco use. According to a report from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, companies have also tricked us and our children by avoiding regulations, including new product marketing restrictions and tobacco taxes, contributing to the ongoing problem of youth use.

Cigar manufacturers use many strategies to attract young people including emphasizing flavors in advertisements, paying to place them on store countertops, engaging in fun and engaging social media trends, keeping prices low and introducing new and limited-edition flavors such as “harvest blend,” “summer fusion,” “sticky sweets” and “spiced rum.”

Good news: FDA proposes rule prohibiting flavored cigars. 

In April 2022, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a proposed rule to prohibit all characterizing flavors in cigars based on clear evidence that all cigars increase health risks, but particularly, flavors. The rule noted that flavors increase the appeal of cigars and make them easier to use, especially for youth, and that removing flavored cigars from the market would reduce the number of youth who smoke cigars.

Why the FDA must act NOW. 

• Sales of all cigars more than doubled between 2000 and 2021, largely driven by increased sales of smaller types of cigars, many of which are flavored. 
• More than a half million youth in the U.S. use flavored cigars, and in recent years more young people tried a cigar every day than tried a cigarette. 
• The hundreds of flavored cigars make up about half of the cigar market and can be as cheap as 3 for 99 cents.
• In recent years, cigar makers have also introduced limited edition products described as “new” in flavors likely to be extremely appealing to youth. 

Preventing tobacco use among youth is a priority because tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death in the world.

This Halloween, let’s hope the FDA will give us a real treat and ban flavored cigars before they hook a new generation of smokers. 

Reality Check is a teen-led, adult-run program that seeks to prevent and decrease tobacco use among young people throughout New York State.  

For more information about Reality Check, visit realitycheckofny.org.  

Press Release:

Why is a group with Tobacco-Free in its name so passionate and determined to promote plastic-free living for the month of July? Because tobacco product waste, especially the tiny but troublesome discarded cigarette butts, is a form of plastic waste?

“According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are littered every year, making them the most littered item on the planet,” says Brittany Bozzer, Reality Check Youth Coordinator for Tobacco-Free Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties (TF-GOW). “That’s a problem because cigarette butt filters are made of a nonbiodegradable plastic called cellulose acetate.”

When tossed into the environment, cigarette butts dump not only plastic, but also nicotine, arsenic, formaldehyde, lead and cadmium that leaches into our soil, waterway systems and surrounding environment, affecting all kinds of living things from plants and flowers to wildlife and marine life.

Beyond cigarette butts

Bozzer notes that cigarette butts are just one form of tobacco product waste that is plastic litter. Electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigarettes or vapes, are also toxic to the environment. Add plastic cigar tips, tobacco product wrappers and smokeless tobacco product containers and the local, state and global pollution problem continues.

What can you do in your community

1. Host a cigarette butt cleanup? Cleanups can help build awareness about the extent of the tobacco product pollution and why it’s important to stop. Be sure to wear gloves and pick up discarded vapes, cigar tips and plastic packaging as well.
2. Help people quit. Eliminating tobacco product waste for good also means helping smokers and vapers quit.

The New York State Smokers' Quitline is a confidential service for all New York State residents who wish to overcome dependence on commercial tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. 

Free offerings include individualized coaching and assistance with quit-planning from highly trained tobacco treatment specialists, text and online chat support and free shipping of stop-smoking medications such as nicotine patches, nicotine lozenges or nicotine gum for those 18 and older.

Residents of all ages may contact the Quitline for support and educational materials. In addition, the Quitline encourages teens and young adults (ages 13-24) to text “DROPTHEVAPE” to 88709 to join “This Is Quitting,” a free texting support program for help with quitting vaping. 

For more information, text QUITNOW to 333888 or call 1-866-NY-QUITS (1-866-697-8487) seven days a week, beginning at 9 a.m.

Press Release:

Last week, Abbi Leone and Judith Newton, both juniors at Batavia High School, as well as Attica High School ninth graders Sophia Biniaszewski and Trinnity Whatle, joined more than fifty youths and advocates from nine national organizations to protest Altria Group, Inc.’s 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. 

These advocates held a demonstration outside Altria’s Washington, D.C. office, while several youth activists had proxy tickets to directly address Altria’s executives and ask questions during the virtual shareholders’ meeting.

“I’m so proud of Abbi, Judith, Sophia, and Trinnity for fighting against the manipulative tactics the tobacco industry uses to target them,” said Brittany Bozzer, Youth Coordinator at Tobacco-Free Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming (TF-GOW). “Now that they have shared their voice in Washington, D.C., they plan to continue to address the challenges of tobacco use in their communities back home, as well as mobilize their peers to take action.” 

This year marks the ninth consecutive year that Mobilize Against Tobacco Lies (MATL), a collaborative of youth programs and national partners, gathered to expose and fight back against the tobacco giant’s lies.

Reality Check youth from across New York State rallied with a coalition of tobacco control youth programs and national partners including Dover Youth to Youth of New Hampshire, Wisconsin FACT, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Traditional Tobacco Voices, American Indian Cancer Foundation, Corporate Accountability, Counter Tools, Center for Black Health and Equity and Truth Initiative.

Altria and its Philip Morris subsidiary sell the number one most popular cigarette brand among kids, Marlboro, and its John Middleton subsidiary sells one of the most popular cigar brands among kids, Black and Mild. Altria has a long history of targeting kids and other vulnerable groups with its products and invested in Juul at the height of the youth e-cigarette epidemic. 

Altria claims to be “moving beyond smoking,” but the truth is that they make most of their revenue from cigarettes and fight real efforts to reduce smoking – such as bans on menthol cigarettes.

Despite Altria and the tobacco industry’s efforts, the United States has made great progress in reducing youth smoking. However, the latest government survey shows that 2.8 million U.S middle and high school students still use tobacco products, including 2.13 million who use e-cigarettes.

Reality Check is a teen-led, adult-run program that seeks to prevent and decrease tobacco use among young people throughout New York State.  

For more information about Reality Check, visit realitycheckofny.org. 

Press Release:

Nearly 100 youths gather in Washington D.C. to protest Altria Group, Inc.’s shareholder meeting and expose Big Tobacco’s lies and schemes to addict kids. 

Last week, Abbigayle Leone and Judith Newton - Reality Check leaders from Batavia High School - joined more than 125 youth and advocates from 15 different states to protest Altria Group, Inc.’s 2023 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. These advocates held a demonstration outside Altria’s Washington, D.C. office, while several youth activists had proxy tickets to directly address Altria’s executives and ask questions during the virtual shareholders’ meeting.

“I’m so proud of my youth for fighting against the manipulative tactics the tobacco industry uses to target them,” said Brittany Bozzer, Youth Coordinator at Tobacco-Free Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming (TF-GOW). “After using their powerful voices in Washington, D.C., the teens plan to continue to address the challenges of tobacco use in their communities back home, as well as mobilize their peers to take action.”

This year marks the eighth consecutive year that Mobilize Against Tobacco Lies (MATL), a collaborative of youth programs and national partners, gathered to expose and fight back against the tobacco giant’s lies. Reality Check youth from across New York State rallied with a coalition of seven tobacco control youth programs and five national partners, including Michigan Making It County, Texas Say What, New Hampshire Dover Youth to Youth, Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaii, Wisconsin FACT, Delaware Kick Butts Generation, Indigenous Peoples Task Force, Corporate Accountability, Counter Tools, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Center for Black Health and Equity and Truth Initiative.

Altria sells the number one most popular cigarette brand among kids, Marlboro, and has long targeted kids and other vulnerable groups with its products. Altria claims to be “moving beyond smoking,” but the truth is that they rake in billions from cigarettes and other tobacco products, hook kids with new products like e-cigarettes, and fight real efforts to reduce tobacco use.

Despite Altria and the tobacco industry’s efforts, the United States has made great progress to reduce youth smoking. However, the latest government survey shows over 3 million U.S. middle and high school students still use tobacco products, including over 2.5 million who use e-cigarettes.

Reality Check is a teen-led, adult-run program that seeks to prevent and decrease tobacco use among young people throughout New York State. For more information about Reality Check, visit realitycheckofny.org.

Submitted photo courtesy of Gretchen Galley

Press release:

To honor #BlackHistoryMonth, students gather on Instagram Live to discuss the film “42” as well as tobacco use in movies and community health disparities.

A virtual movie event on “42,” The Jackie Robinson Story, spurred a lively Instagram Live discussion on multiple tobacco issues affecting our community and nation. 

On Feb. 25, Reality Check youth from Genesee County joined 100+ youth and community members from across New York State to honor #BlackHistoryMonth, as well as discuss the baseball movie and how it hits a home run on tobacco-related topics including: Tobacco use in movies; Big Tobacco’s targeted advertising; health disparities: and smokeless tobacco use.

The youth had a three-day window, from Feb. 23-25, to watch the movie independently, or as part of a group watch party, to prepare for the live discussion. The goal was to share what they learned with peers and members of the community to help reduce tobacco product use in their regions and beyond.

Tobacco Use in Movies

“42” includes several smoking scenes, particularly cigar smoking. This gave Reality Check leaders guiding the discussion the opportunity to educate youth on important facts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that were also shared via social media channels the week preceding the event.

• Smoking in movies recruits 187,000 new teen smokers every year; and
• PG-13 films account for nearly two-thirds of the smoking scenes youth see on the big screen.

“The more kids see smoking on screen, the more likely they are to smoke,” said Brittany Bozzer, Reality Check coordinator at Tobacco-Free Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties (TF-GOW).

“There’s no excuse for having smoking in movies that are rated to be sold to kids; we suggest giving an R rating to movies that include tobacco use.” 

According to Bozzer, giving an R rating to future movies with smoking would be expected to reduce the number of teen smokers by nearly 1 in 5, preventing up to 1 million deaths from smoking among children alive today.

Black History Month

Since “42” tells the story of the American legend Jackie Robinson, the first African American Major League Baseball player, the movie event and discussion included the issue of racial health disparities in our communities.

For more than 60 years, the tobacco industry has been a part of the problem by deliberately targeting the Black community with menthol cigarettes, which are more addictive, easier for kids to start using and harder for smokers to quit than other cigarettes.

To target Black demographics, the tobacco company Chesterfield used Jackie Robinson in cigarette ads in the 1950s. Athletes were desirable endorsers for cigarettes because they were perceived as healthier than the average citizen.

Teens also discussed how the tobacco industry profited while destroying Black lives and health. In the 1950s, less than 10 percent of Black smokers used menthol cigarettes. Today, 85 percent of Black smokers smoke menthol cigarettes.

Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death among Black Americans. It claims 45,000 Black lives each year, and Black Americans die at higher rates than other groups from tobacco-related diseases such as cancer, heart disease and stroke.

Baseball and Chewing Tobacco

A final discussion topic of “42” and the Instagram Live event was Through With Chew week, a national, weeklong event meant to educate people about the dangers of smokeless tobacco, also known as chew, which has been used by professional athletes for decades.

The week of awareness included the Great American Spit Out on Feb. 25 this year, the day tobacco users across America aim to quit.

ABOUT REALITY CHECK 

It is a youth led movement in New York State that empowers youth to become leaders in their communities in exposing what they see as the manipulative and deceptive marketing tactics of the tobacco industry. The organization’s members create change in their communities through grassroots mobilization and education.

Reality Check groups work in their communities by trying to limit the exposure of tobacco marketing in stores, help make smoke/vape-free public, work, and housing spaces, and limiting the exposure to smoking/vaping in movies.

These initiatives are to help discourage young people from becoming new daily smokers and encourage current smokers to quit. Reality Check GOW is a program of Tobacco-Free GOW and Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.

More information can be found at http://www.realitycheckofny.com and http://www.tobaccofreenys.com

Submitted photo and press release:

Tobacco-Free Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties (TF-GOW) and Reality Check youth champions from Notre Dame High School were at the New York Capitol on Feb. 4, talking with lawmakers about the success of the state’s Tobacco Control Program.

Notre Dame freshman Morgan Wahl, junior Benjamin Streeter, and senior Maddie Payton joined a pair of Reality Check peers from Warsaw High School in the Albany rally, Shelby Pietron and Katie Pietron. Brittany Bozzer, Reality Check coordinator at TF-GOW attended, too.

They focused their messaging on lowering the average smoking rate to 12.8 percent and about the unmet needs in tobacco control efforts, particularly among youth and certain communities. They met with Assemblyman Stephen Hawley and Assemblyman David DiPietro.

During legislative meetings, the youth stressed that cigarette smoking among high school youth statewide declined 82 percent between 2000 and 2018, but e-cigarette use by high schoolers continues to rise, now at 27 percent. In contrast, only 3.8 percent of adult New Yorkers use e-cigarettes. Additionally, nearly 40 percent 12th-graders use e-cigarettes statewide.

Research shows that youth who use e-cigarettes are four times more likely to start smoking conventional cigarettes than their peers who do not vape.

“Successfully reducing the average adult smoking rate to 12.8 percent in New York State is a significant achievement, but new and emerging nicotine products—like e-cigarettes—could reverse the substantial gains we’ve made in reducing smoking,” Bozzer said.

“We know that marketing attracts youth to e-cigarettes, and flavors are what gets them to try them. Nicotine is what keeps them addicted.”

Higher smoking rates among certain communities

New Yorkers with low education, low income and reporting frequent mental distress smoke at higher rates than the state average.

“Although the average smoking rate is down, cigarette smoking rates among certain communities are considerably higher than average," Bozzer said. "For example, throughout New York State, 25.5 percent of adults reporting frequent mental distress smoke cigarettes, as do 20 percent of those with less than a high school education and nearly 20 percent of those with an annual household income of less than $25,000.

“Income, education, and mental health status shouldn’t determine smoking rates, but they do, and our program has a local and statewide program in place to further tobacco-free norms."

While at the Capitol, the Notre Dame youth talked with lawmakers about work being done in their communities and provided an interactive display in The Well of the Legislative Office Building, revealing the true facts behind Big Tobacco’s misleading marketing.

More Facts: The Costs of Tobacco Use in New York State

• Annual health care costs directly caused by smoking in the state are $10.39 billion;
• This expense results in a tax burden of $1,410 for each household every year;
• There are 28,200 deaths in New York State each year due to smoking, and thousands who are living with illnesses related to tobacco use;
• The CDC recommends a $203 million annual investment in New York State’s Tobacco Control Program; the state’s investment is $39 million.

Reality Check New York empowers youth to become leaders in their community in exposing what they see as the manipulative and deceptive marketing tactics of the tobacco industry.

The organization’s members produce change in their communities through grassroots mobilization and education. Reality Check in this area is affiliated with Tobacco-Free Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming Counties (TF-GOW) program managed by Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The NYS Tobacco Control Program is made up of a network of statewide contractors who work on Advancing Tobacco-Free Communities, which includes Community Engagement and Reality Check, the Health Systems for a Tobacco-Free New York, the NYS Smokers’ Quitline and Surveillance and Research.

Their efforts are leading the way toward a tobacco-free society. For more information, visit:

• TobaccoFreeNYS.org
• tobaccofreeny.org and
• NYSmokeFree.Com

Photo: Back row (from left) Maddie Payton, Benjamin Streeter, as well as Notre Dame freshman Morgan Wahl (kneeling in front) took in the grandeur of the New York State Senate Chambers on their recent trip to educate lawmakers at the NYS Capitol. Earlier that day, they talked with Assemblyman David DiPietro, right, about tobacco control work being done in their communities and revealed the true facts behind Big Tobacco’s misleading marketing. Also pictured (middle row, from left) are Warsaw High School students Shelby Pietron, Katie Pietron, and Brittany Bozzer, Reality Check coordinator at TF-GOW.

("JUUL gets our goat, too!" says Dot.)

Submitted photo and press release:

As part of Truth Initiative’s National Day of Action, Reality Check high school champions from Warsaw in Wyoming County and Notre Dame in Batavia took action on Friday, Oct. 11, with a Safari tour and rally at Hidden Valley Safari Adventure in Varysburg titled “Animals Against Human Testing.” 

Just as humans speak out when companies test their products on animals, the Reality Check students "interviewed zebras, deer, geese – and even a camel named Randy – to get their support." To a critter, they all came out in favor of telling JUUL that their pod-based vaping devices and flavor pods present unknown health risks and are not safe for testing on humans. 

While mingling with their friends from another species, the teens also promoted “This Is Quitting,” the first-of-its-kind text-to-quit-vaping service that gives youth and young adults the motivation and support they need to ditch JUUL and other e-cigarettes.

The Safari continued on social media, as Warsaw and Notre Dame youth took selfies and videos with their new animal friends and posted them on social media using Truth Instagram stickers and the hashtag #DontTestOnHumans.

As cases of lung disease and death resulting from the vaping epidemic continue to sweep across the nation, including the recent death of a 17-year-old male in Bronx – the state’s first vaping-related fatality -- Reality Check youth and their adult leaders wanted more than ever to take a stand against JUUL and vaping.

“Truth Initiative has a long history of calling out Big Tobacco for its deadly exploits, and Tested on Humans is the latest example which exposes just how little is known about the long-term health effects of e-cigarettes,” said Brittany Bozzer, Reality Check Youth Engagement coordinator of Tobacco-Free Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties (TF-GOW).

“We join them in delivering a clear message to JUUL and the entire tobacco industry: the safety and well-being of our region’s youth is not for sale.”

About Truth Initiative                                                                    

Truth Initiative is America’s largest nonprofit public health organization dedicated to making tobacco use a thing of the past. Their mission is clear: achieve a culture where all youth and young adults reject tobacco.

About Reality Check

Reality Check empowers youth to become leaders in their communities in exposing what they see as the manipulative and deceptive marketing tactics of the tobacco industry. The organization’s members produce change in their communities through grassroots mobilization and education.

Efforts are evidence-based, policy-driven, and cost-effective approaches that decrease youth tobacco use, motivate adult smokers to quit, and eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke. Reality Check in this area is affiliated with Tobacco-Free GOW and Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Submitted photo and press release:

BATAVIA -- Brittany Bozzer, Youth Engagement manager of Tobacco-Free Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming counties (TF-GLOW), took Reality Check youth leaders from both St. Joseph School and Notre Dame High School to the state Capitol this week.

They went to Albany on Monday for the Annual Tobacco Control Legislative Day.

Their mission: to show lawmakers the success of the work they’ve done in their community to lower the smoking rate. They also told state leaders about the challenges they face in trying to reduce tobacco use, particularly among vulnerable groups in including fellow youth, the poor and people dealing with mental health issues. 

The facts they shared

Cigarette smoking among New York’s high school youth declined 82 percent between 2000 and 2018, but from 2016 to 2018 the rate increased slightly for the first time since 2000. Even more alarming, electronic cigarette use among the state’s middle and high schoolers continues to rise.

Between 2014 and 2018, the rate increased fully 160 percent, from 10.5 percent to 27.4 percent, and studies show e-cigarettes can be a precursor to cigarette smoking in youth, even those who were not likely to smoke cigarettes. 

Not only has the youth smoking rate in New York State increased for the first time since 2000, but data reveals that more than 1 in 4 of New York’s high-schoolers is using electronic nicotine devices,” Bozzer said.

“With more than half of teens falsely believing e-cigarettes are harmless, adolescent nicotine exposure can cause addiction, it can harm the developing adolescent brain and it can increase the risk of adolescents starting and continuing smoking combustible cigarettes.”

Successes and troubles

St. Joe’s eighth-graders Cayla Hansen and Katie Kratz, as well as Notre Dame sophomores Ben Streeter, Krysta Hansen and junior Maddie Payton, don’t like what they see the tobacco industry doing to hook their friend and family members.

So for this year’s Tobacco Control Legislative Education Day, they wanted to show and tell their elected officials what they see. They created an interactive, life-sized board game called “Tobacco Trouble,” bringing lawmakers on board with the game between legislative sessions to learn about the group’s recent tobacco control successes and the continued fight they’re in with Big Tobacco, an industry that has overfilled their community's retail stores with tobacco products.

More troubling facts in NYS:

• Adults with poor mental health, less than a high school education or annual income less than $25,000 smoke at much higher rates than the general adult population in the state;
• About 280,000 kids now under 18 will die prematurely from smoking;
• E-cigarette use amongst youth has almost tripled from 2014 to 2018;
• E-cigarettes are now the most commonly used tobacco product by youth—more than cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco and hookah; 
• Studies show e-cigarettes can be a precursor to cigarette smoking in youth, even those who were not likely to smoke cigarettes;
• Using nicotine in adolescence may also increase risk for future addiction to other drugs.

Reality Check empowers youth to become leaders in their communities in exposing what they see as the manipulative and deceptive marketing tactics of the tobacco industry.

The organization’s members produce change in their communities through grassroots mobilization and education. Reality Check in this area is affiliated with Tobacco-Free Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming counties (TF-GLOW), a program managed by Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.

To learn more about Reality Check, connect with Brittany Bozzer at 585-219-4064 or brittany.bozzer@roswellpark.org

Press release:

Why did you join Reality Check? That’s the question Reality Check coordinator Brittany Bozzer asks each student when they join the tobacco-free advocacy group and attend their first meeting.

There is simply no right or wrong answer. But it’s always inspiring to find out why our youth advocates join us and what it means to them to be a part of the group.

Here’s what Reality Check members from St. Joseph School in Batavia have to say:

Seventh-grader Maylee joined Reality Check so that she could make a difference to smokers.

“I want to learn about the dangers of tobacco and other products so that I can educate peers and those who smoke,” Maylee said.

 “I am anti-smoking smoking and think it is a bad habit or addiction for people to get involved with,” said James, also a seventh-grader, on why he got involved. “I also want to help out in the community.”

Amelia joined Reality Check to gain “knowledge, power, strength and confidence.”

And Paige joined to get “a good education on tobacco use and other drugs so that I can tell people about what I learned.”

Each young student has his or her own unique reason for joining, but there is one common thread. Each one has been affected by tobacco products in some way and they are choosing to help make a difference in their community.

What is Reality Check? Reality Check is a youth-based, adult-mentored, statewide youth program operated by the New York State Department of Health in Albany as well as Roswell Park Comprehensive Center.

The goal of Reality Check is to educate teens about the manipulative marketing practices used by the tobacco industry as well as to teach them how to advocate in the community for themselves and their peers. 

What do we do? Reality Check exposes the truths about tobacco marketing through point of sale and smoking in movies.

Through various activities led by youth, they are able to gather facts and statistics to show the reality that tobacco use among youth is very prevalent in their community and that it needs to be stopped. This tobacco is not exclusive to cigarette use; it also includes e-cigarettes and vaping as these also contain nicotine.

Most youth begin to get involved in Reality Check between seventh and eighth grades and continue on through high school, bringing awareness to the community and advocating for change!