SAFE Glen Cove Coalition: LIVE SAFE Earth Day 2023

Earth Day was founded in 1970 as a day of education about environmental issues and has risen to be a global celebration. The founder, Senator Gaylord Nelson inspired by the protests of the 1960s, introduced Earth Day as a “national teach-in” to bring environmental causes into the national spotlight. Rallies took place across the country, and by the end of the first year, the U.S. government had created the Environmental Protection Agency. By 1990, Earth Day was an annual event now celebrated by more than 140 countries around the globe. Each year on April 22, more than a billion people celebrate Earth Day to protect the planet from things like air pollution and environmental hazards.

The Coalition is greatly concerned about air quality and the effects of Secondhand Smoke, which contains more than 7,000 chemicals; at least 69 of these chemicals are known to cause cancer, including: arsenic, benzene, beryllium, chromium, and formaldehyde. Second-hand smoke can be significantly elevated outdoors and when adjacent to smoking areas. Exposure is linked to adverse health outcomes, including respiratory disorders, cardiovascular diseases, and lung cancer. Exposure to cancer-causing chemicals in outdoor areas is most likely to occur in the presence of cigarette smoke, and worryingly, short periods of exposure to second-hand smoke are related to detectable levels of carcinogenic tobacco-specific nitrosamines in nonsmoking subjects.

In addition to introducing toxins into the air we breathe, tobacco waste also creates great challenges in keeping our environment pristine. It might look like cotton, but 98 percent of cigarette filters are made of plastic fibers (cellulose acetate) that are tightly packed together, which leads to an estimated 1.69 billion pounds of cigarette butts winding up as toxic trash each year. Disposing of cigarettes on the ground or out of a car is so common that 75 percent of smokers report having littered. Each year, 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are discarded into the environment, making cigarette butts the number one source of plastic pollution and pollution overall. If you lined up 4.5 trillion cigarette butts, it would encircle the earth three times. Cities spend between $3 million and $16 million on cigarette clean-up.

This year the SAFE Glen Cove Coalition and Community Partner, the Tobacco Action Coalition of LI are challenging you do your part in keeping the air fresh, our streets, parks, beaches waterways free of butt and vape waste that threatens our health. This can be accomplished by simply not smoking or being mindful of the disposal of your cigarette butts. Carol Meschkow-TAC Manager and longtime technical expert contends we all benefit by working together to make our world a healthier place to live without the hazards of toxic chemicals introduced into our environment from second-hand smoke and tobacco products waste.

Vaping, still at epidemic levels among youth with about one in five high school students using e-cigarettes in 2020, also generates a significant amount of toxic and plastic waste. Disposable vape pens are non-rechargeable devices that come ready-filled with e-liquid. Many popular e-cigarettes, like JUUL, are pod-based with single-use plastic cartridges containing nicotine. Generating even more waste; disposable e-cigarettes like Puff Bar, which are designed entirely for one-time use have skyrocketed in popularity with a 1,000% increase in use among high school students between 2019 and 2020.

On average, a disposable vape pen will provide around 300 puffs, like a packet of 20 traditional cigarettes. For a pack-a-day smoker, that equates to one pen a day, or 365 pens every year! For someone using just one disposable vape pen per week, 52 devices will still be binned throughout one year, causing a massive amount of waste sent to landfills. Some pens can also leak and release metals, battery acid and nicotine into the environment. This waste can contaminate water and animal habitats, making them unsafe for their inhabitants.

Please do your part as a guardian of our natural resources, LIVE SAFE and an environmentally friendly life tobacco and substance free.

For help Quitting smoking or vaping or to help a loved one beat a Nicotine Addition please visit the American Lung Association on their Website at: www.american lung.org. “The American Lung Association says the only thing that should go into your lungs is clean air, so if you’re inhaling anything, it could potentially be toxic to your lungs! The New York State Smokers’ Quitline assists thousands of New Yorkers every year in their attempts to break free from smoking and other tobacco and the service is free and confidential. Call 1-866-NYQUITS (1-866-697-8487) or visit them at: https://www.nysmokefree.com/.for Quit Help.

SAFE, Inc. is the only alcohol and substance abuse prevention, intervention, and education agency in the City of Glen Cove. The Coalition is concerned about all combustible and electronic products with marijuana and tobacco. The Agency is employing environmental strategies to educate and update the community regarding the negative consequences in collaboration with Carol Meschkow, Manager- Tobacco Action Coalition of Long Island. To learn more about the SAFE Glen Cove Coalition please follow www.facebook.com/safeglencovec... or to learn more about electronic products visit the Vaping Facts and Myths Page of SAFE’s website to learn more about how vaping is detrimental to your health www.safeglencove.org.