College students show support for the Great American Smokeout

Last month, the American Cancer Society celebrated its annual Great American Smokeout. This day focused on helping people to quit smoking or using other tobacco products. Tobacco Action Coalition of Long Island (TAC) partnered with Suffolk Community College in recognition of the Great American Smokeout.

“Although smoking rates have gone down in New York State, 28,000 New York Lives are lost each year from smoking- related illness,” said Paulette Orlando, Community Engagement Specialist, Tobacco Action Coalition of LI

In support of Suffolk Community College’s Smoke-free Campus policy, TAC was there to show their continued support by educating college students, faculty and staff about the importance of protecting everyone from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke. Quit packages were also made available to support people looking to quit. Each packet contained mints, a stress ball, educational and resource pamphlets.

“The Great American Smoke-Out is a great opportunity to have agencies like TAC and Suffolk County Community College educate people on how to be Tobacco Free at home and here on campus. They raise awareness, and provide smoking cessation resources to our students and the college community,” said Agnes Hahn Registered Nurse Supervisor of Health Services at Suffolk Community College -Ammerman Campus.

Given that Tobacco is a highly addictive product, and close to 95 percent of smokers try their first cigarette by the age of 21, colleges and universities are an important location for protecting students, faculty, staff members, and guests from secondhand smoke exposure through tobacco control policies. Across New York state over 200 colleges and Universities have enacted some type of smoke-free policy.

“With the rise in young adults using e-cigarettes, it is important to take every opportunity to bring awareness to the dangers of this health issue,” Hahn continued. “The Tobacco Action Coalition empowers college students and gives them an opportunity to do something positive.”

The students also showed their support for protecting children from tobacco marketing in stores by signing postcards. There is overwhelming evidence that the younger people see tobacco, the more likely they are to start smoking. The average age of a new smoker in New York is just 13 years old and research shows by reducing the amount of tobacco marketing that children see in stores, fewer youth start smoking.

Some communities in New York State have passed regulations that protect youth from Tobacco Marketing. To learn more, go to Breathefreely.org

The Tobacco Action Coalition of Long Island (TAC) is funded by the NYS Tobacco Control Program through a grant administered by the American Lung Association. TAC consists of a community engagement component and a youth action component branded as Reality Check LI. Our work focuses on creating environments that are open to policy change to make Long Island a healthier place to live, work and play. TAC also supplies free tobacco education and cessation literature to local agencies and schools. To learn more, go to Breathefreely.org