College students show support for the Great American Smokeout

Hauppauge, NY- Recently, 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.

During the event students showed their support for protecting children from tobacco imagery in movies by signing post cards. Movies with smoking will cause 6.4 million of today’s children and teens to become smokers. R-rating movies with smoking would avert 1 million smoking deaths among today’s children and teens and would keep 3.1 million kids from smoking.

“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 resources and educational materials were available for people looking to quit.

“I look forward to the Great American Smoke Out and partnering with agencies like TAC and the Suffolk County Department of Health. It is so important to bring this outreach and education to our students. For some it may be the start of making a plan to quit, for others it is the perfect event to bring awareness of the dangers of vaping and nicotine addiction. These agencies provide many resources for vaping cessation and smoking cessation classes. TAC provides students with a voice in establishing tobacco free policies. I am grateful to have these great resources to bring to the students of Suffolk County Community College” 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 numerous colleges and Universities have enacted some type of smoke-free policy.

For help quitting smoking or vaping, including free nicotine replacement therapy for eligible residents, individuals can contact a health care provider, call the New York State Smokers’ Quitline at 1-866-NY-QUITS or visit www.nysmokefree.com. Effective medications and counseling are covered by Medicaid and most insurance programs.

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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.