Reality Check Unearths the Facts Big Tobacco Wants to Keep Buried

Brentwood, NY - Brentwood Reality Check youth brought a different kind of horror this Friday the 13th, in recognition of Seen Enough Tobacco (SET) Day. Recognized annually, Reality Check of New York has declared October 13th as Seen Enough Tobacco Day, to highlight the need to protect youth from excessive exposure to tobacco marketing. The 13th was selected to underscore the alarming fact that the average age of a new smoker is 13 years old.

Members from the Brentwood Freshman Center embraced the theme of Halloween by creating a cemetery of facts the tobacco industry would prefer to keep buried. Some of the facts included that “90% of smokers start before the age of 18,” and “menthol is not just a flavor.” Reality Check Youth know that menthol flavored tobacco makes smoking easier to start and harder to quit.

“Billions of dollars are spent on the marketing of tobacco products that entice youth, and this work shows the tobacco industry that our youth are taking back their power and have seen enough,” said Reality Check Coordinator Stacy Dacelien.

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The Tobacco Action Coalition of LI is one of 21 Advancing Tobacco Free Communities’ grants funded by the NYS DOH’s Bureau of Tobacco Control and administered by the American Lung Association. Our grant is comprised of a community engagement and youth action component, Reality Check, who work collaboratively to promote environments open to creating a tobacco-free norm as well as educating and empowering our youth to become change agents within their communities.