Politics & Government
Tobacco Action Coalition of LI Meets with State Lawmakers
TACLI and Lawmakers Discuss Tobacco Control Programs and Unmet Needs of Underserved Communities
In Albany, their message to Elected Officials is #TheFightIsntOverNY on Tobacco Control
The Tobacco Action Coalition of LI and the Northwell Health’s Center for Tobacco Control just returned from the state capitol in Albany where they met with state lawmakers representing the Long Island region. They talked with NYS Senators Kaplan, Gaughran, Martinez, Kaminsky, Flanagan, Thomas and Assemblymembers Ramos, Montesano, Solages, Stern, Raia and Ra about the success of local tobacco control programs and the unmet needs among the region’s underserved communities. Throughout New York, over 19 percent of those earning less than $25,000 a year and who do not have a high school education smoke cigarettes, as do 26 percent of those who experience poor mental health.
The Tobacco Action Coalition of LI and the Center for Tobacco Control at Northwell Health have partnered with the Suffolk County Cessation Coalition to educate Behavioral Health Sites across Long Island about the benefits of establishing tobacco-free policies and integrating tobacco dependence education as a part of treatment protocol.
Andrea Spaterella, NP, CTTS, Northwell Health’s Center for Tobacco Control said, “It is paramount patients are screened and treated for their nicotine addiction as well as having access to cessation resources. Research demonstrates that adultswith 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 – and we have an important opportunity to recognize these disparities and make a difference to these communities.”
Another population that warrants attention is youth.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 20002. Even more alarming, electronic cigarette use among the state’s middle and high schoolers continues to rise. Between 2014 and 2018, the rate increased 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.
“More than half of teens falsely believe 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,” said PJ Tedeschi, Tobacco Action Coalition of LI Director and Senior Manager of Health Promotions for the American Lung Association in New York . “E-cigarettes are now the most commonly used tobacco product by youth—more than cigarettes,[5]cigars, smokeless tobacco and hookah – and the U.S. Surgeon General has called youth e-cigarette use an epidemic.”
During meetings in Albany, Tobacco Control Program partners from around the state educated lawmakers about their tobacco control work with local communities and health care organizations, including these critical areas of need. In the Well of the Legislative Office Building, youth leaders hosted an interactive, life-sized board game called “Tobacco Trouble” set up to highlight recent tobacco control successes and the continued fight against Big Tobacco and how the tobacco industry has overfilled the state’s retail outlets with tobacco products.
“Simply, investing in Tobacco Control Programs will save lives and money.” said Elizabeth Hamlin-Berninger, Director of Advocacy in New York for the American Lung Association. “By putting in place proven policies to reduce tobacco use, New York State has an opportunity to achieve lasting reductions in tobacco-related death and disease, slow the e-cigarette epidemic, and save the lives of thousands of New Yorkers.”
The CDC recommends that the Tobacco Control Programs in New York State be funded with $203 million, yet actual funding for these programs totals $39 million.[6]The health and economic burdens of tobacco-use could be significantly reducedif these programs were fully funded.
According to the American Lung Association’s State of Tobacco Control 2019 report, smoking costs New York State $10.39 billion in annual health care costs and, each year 28,200 New Yorkers die due to smoking, and thousands more live with illnesses related to tobacco use.
What more can be done? Action needs to be taken to:
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The Tobacco Action Coalition of LI and the Center for Tobacco Control at Northwell Health have partnered with the Suffolk County Cessation Coalition to educate Behavioral Health Sites across Long Island about the benefits of establishing tobacco-free policies and integrating tobacco dependence education as a part of treatment protocol.
Andrea Spaterella, NP, CTTS, Northwell Health’s Center for Tobacco Control said, “It is paramount patients are screened and treated for their nicotine addiction as well as having access to cessation resources. Research demonstrates that adultswith 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 – and we have an important opportunity to recognize these disparities and make a difference to these communities.”
Another population that warrants attention is youth.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 20002. Even more alarming, electronic cigarette use among the state’s middle and high schoolers continues to rise. Between 2014 and 2018, the rate increased 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.
“More than half of teens falsely believe 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,” said PJ Tedeschi, Tobacco Action Coalition of LI Director and Senior Manager of Health Promotions for the American Lung Association in New York . “E-cigarettes are now the most commonly used tobacco product by youth—more than cigarettes,[5]cigars, smokeless tobacco and hookah – and the U.S. Surgeon General has called youth e-cigarette use an epidemic.”
During meetings in Albany, Tobacco Control Program partners from around the state educated lawmakers about their tobacco control work with local communities and health care organizations, including these critical areas of need. In the Well of the Legislative Office Building, youth leaders hosted an interactive, life-sized board game called “Tobacco Trouble” set up to highlight recent tobacco control successes and the continued fight against Big Tobacco and how the tobacco industry has overfilled the state’s retail outlets with tobacco products.
“Simply, investing in Tobacco Control Programs will save lives and money.” said Elizabeth Hamlin-Berninger, Director of Advocacy in New York for the American Lung Association. “By putting in place proven policies to reduce tobacco use, New York State has an opportunity to achieve lasting reductions in tobacco-related death and disease, slow the e-cigarette epidemic, and save the lives of thousands of New Yorkers.”
The CDC recommends that the Tobacco Control Programs in New York State be funded with $203 million, yet actual funding for these programs totals $39 million.[6]The health and economic burdens of tobacco-use could be significantly reducedif these programs were fully funded.
According to the American Lung Association’s State of Tobacco Control 2019 report, smoking costs New York State $10.39 billion in annual health care costs and, each year 28,200 New Yorkers die due to smoking, and thousands more live with illnesses related to tobacco use.
What more can be done? Action needs to be taken to:
- Meet the primary unmet need of tobacco control, reduce tobacco use among disadvantaged groups;
- Decrease youth access and exposure to tobacco marketing, including electronic cigarettes and other vaping products;
- Increase tobacco-free outdoor environments;
- Eliminate smoking in multi-unit dwellings;
- Ensure that all patients are screened and treated for their nicotine addiction; and
- Improve access to cessation services, especially among those disproportionately impacted by tobacco use.
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 moreinformation, visit TobaccoFreeNYS.org, TobaccoFreeNY.organd NYSmokeFree.Com.
Tobacco Action Coalition of Long Island (TAC) is funded by the NYS Tobacco Control Program through a grant administered by the American Lung Association.###
