Students "Chalk the Walk" at Mt Sinai Middle School

Mt. Sinai Middle School youth recently participated in a "chalk the walk" activity – using colorful anti-smoking chalk-written messages to engage their peers in high volume areas - to raise awareness about the dangers of tobacco use. Tobacco companies spend half a million dollars every day aggressively marketing tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, in stores throughout New York State with colorful walls of tobacco products and other marketing materials.

“The students learned about the harmful effects of smoking and vaping during health classes,” said Dave Herrschaft, Mt Sinai Middle School health teacher. “The anti-smoking advertisements were a good way that the students could be creative while spreading the message that smoking and vaping are unhealthy.”

The heavy presence of tobacco marketing in stores impacts our youth. There is overwhelming evidence that the more young people see tobacco, the more likely they are to start smoking.

“More cigarettes are sold in convenience stores than in any other type of store, and 70% of adolescents shop in convenience stores at least once a week — where they are more likely to be exposed to pro-smoking messages,” said Paulette Orlando, Community Engagement Specialist, Tobacco Action Coalition of Long Island.

According to the New York State Department of Health, the average age of a new smoker in New York State is 13 years old. Communities across the state have begun to address these concerns by reducing the number of tobacco retailers, restricting locations of tobacco retailers, and restricting the sale of all flavored tobacco products.

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About Tobacco Action Coalition LI

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.

About the NYS Tobacco Control Program

The NYS Tobacco Control Program includes a network of statewide grantees 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.