TOBACCO-FREE CNY, JANUARY 6, 2025 – Tobacco-free policies offer many benefits to the community. These policies protect the public from the dangers of secondhand smoke, reduce the death and disease associated with smoking and secondhand smoke, protect the environment from tobacco waste, and promote a tobacco-free lifestyles.

At this time of year, many people engage in winter activities such as ice-skating or sledding at our local parks. Community members who spend time outdoors have a right to clean air without the presence of secondhand smoke. Smoke and secondhand smoke contain over 7,000 chemicals, including 70 that are known to cause cancer. Even in an outdoor setting, the presence of tobacco smoke and secondhand smoke can become equivalent to that of an indoor space. There is no safe level of secondhand smoke!

Making shared outdoor spaces smoke-free can reduce health risks for both adults and youth. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death, disease, and disability in the United States. Many health problems can arise from smoking and from even short exposure to secondhand smoke. In adults, the risk for cardiovascular disease, heart attack, stroke, multiple forms of cancer, respiratory disease, and diabetes is higher in smokers compared to nonsmokers. Children exposed to secondhand smoke can experience immediate health effects such as respiratory and inflammatory effects, as well as long-term effects including respiratory infections, ear infections, and increased asthma attacks in children who have asthma. In infants, exposure can result in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

In addition to the health risks, tobacco products have a harmful effect on our environment. Waste from tobacco products are packed full of toxic chemicals, heavy metals, and nicotine. When littered, these chemicals contaminate waterways, water sources, and land. Cigarette butts are the most common littered item in the United States and are often found in parks/playgrounds, sidewalks, beaches, roadways, and more. Policies to deter smoking can also help reduce tobacco waste in the environment.

To learn more about tobacco use and its impact on our communities, tobacco waste, and secondhand smoke, visit the Tobacco-Free CNY website at tobaccofreecny.org.

The third Thursday of November marks the annual observation of the Great American Smokeout® (GASO). To recognize the event, Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon and City of Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh issued a proclamation to the Tobacco Action Coalition of Onondaga County and Tobacco-Free CNY highlighting the day and the progress made in decreasing tobacco use.

Tobacco-Free CNY staff Carrollyn Rivers, Camryn Chaffee, and Karyn Johnson

The City of Syracuse has made great effort to reduce youth tobacco use by reducing tobacco retailers over time, making sure retailers don’t open near schools and parks, and by helping to enforce NYS minimum age to purchase tobacco products through tobacco licensing. Onondaga County, the City of Syracuse, and many towns and villages have made efforts to keep our shared spaces free from secondhand smoke with tobacco-free municipal grounds and parks policies.

Although overall tobacco use rates are low, certain populations continue to smoke at significantly high levels. This decline in smoking rates can be attributed to strong tobacco policies, including public smoking restrictions, high taxation on tobacco products, and comprehensive public health campaigns. However, despite these efforts, some groups, such as lower-income individuals and certain ethnic minorities, still experience high smoking rates. This indicates that there is more work to be done to address the unique challenges these populations face.

The Great American Smokeout^® is an event created by the American Cancer Society to encourage smokers to stop smoking tobacco products for a full 24 hours, with the goal of taking the first step towards cessation. Cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death, disease and disability in the United States, harming nearly every organ in the body and leading to increased risk of lung disease, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and many types of cancer. There are over 16 million Americans living with a smoking related disease.

Nicotine is recognized as being one of the strongest addictions one can have, and it may take many quit attempts to be successful, however quitting smoking can have immediate positive effects on the body. Within the first 20 minutes of quitting, health improvements begin to happen. For more information on the benefits of quitting smoking, visit www.cdc.gov/tobacco/about/benefits-of-quitting.html.

Cessation can begin with the participation of GASO and with multiple resources available, it can make the journey to becoming tobacco-free easier. The New York State Quitline is available 24/7 with access to coaches, tips and tricks for quitting, and free nicotine replacement. Visit www.nysmokefree.com or call 1-866-NY-QUITS for assistance to make this the year you quit for good!

TOBACCO-FREE CNY, OCTOBER 4, 2024 – Now that October is here, the Halloween festivities are beginning, and candy is on everyone’s mind. What about candy like Swedish gummies, jolly candy, or rainbow candy? These sound like candy, but they’re not. They are flavors of tobacco products. The tobacco industry continues to release new products with fun flavors that can lead youth to start using these products. Of youth that have ever used a tobacco product, 90% used a flavored product. These flavors can be enticing for youth and lead them to use e-cigarettes at a young age. Because of the fun flavors, many kids are unaware of what is in these products and the risks of using them.

In reality, e-cigarettes, or vapes, have many harmful health impacts, especially for younger users. One of the common additives in vapes is a flavoring called diacetyl. This is a chemical that is commonly used in microwave popcorn that is safe to consume, but not to inhale. Inhaling diacetyl can lead to a condition known as popcorn lung, which can cause inflammation in the lungs and irreversible lung disease. Some other harmful chemicals that are found in vapes include: formaldehyde, arsenic, nickel, lead, acetone, cadmium, benzene, and more. Many of these chemicals are known carcinogens, or cancer-causing compounds.

Additionally, some youth are not aware that nicotine is in these products, or what the harms of nicotine are. Nicotine use in adolescence can impair brain development and harm the areas of the brain that control attention, learning, mood, and impulse control.  Many youth turn to nicotine use to help with mental health struggles. In reality, nicotine cane make symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression worse. Nicotine can give the illusion of stress-relief in the short term, but once dependent on nicotine, the body will feel more depressed and anxious without it. Vaping in youth can not only lead to a strong addiction to nicotine in the present, it can also make youth more susceptible to other forms of addiction in the future. Flavors can increase the risk of addiction by having products easier to start using and much harder to quit.

Menthol
Besides the candy flavors that are attractive to youth, the tobacco industry also markets menthol disproportionately to different groups of people. Menthol is a chemical that is naturally found in peppermint and other mint plants that is added to tobacco products. It is added to reduce the harshness of tobacco smoke on the throat and to give the products a minty taste, rather than the taste of tobacco. Menthol makes smoking easier to start and harder to quit because of the way that menthol enhances the addictive effects of nicotine in the brain. Menthol has been used to target multiple communities. 85% of Black smokers smoke menthol cigarettes, and there are up to 10x more ads in neighborhoods with a higher Black population than those without. Menthol is not just a flavor. Menthol makes starting smoking easier to do and harder to quit. The industry has lied about the health impacts of menthol, marketed these products to vulnerable groups, and addicted generations on menthol tobacco products. To learn more about menthol, visit notjustmenthol.org.

Seen Enough Tobacco Day
To raise awareness on the harms of menthol and other flavors in tobacco products, New York State youth have declared October 13th as Seen Enough Tobacco Day. This day is used to educate communities about tobacco flavors, the harms of tobacco use, and how changes could be made to improve the health of these communities. There are many ways in which people can participate in activities on Seen Enough Tobacco Day. You can help to spread the message by posting on social media with the hashtag #SeenEnoughTobacco with a statement on why you are passionate about ending the sale of menthol tobacco products. You can speak to your friends, family, or community on the harms of flavored tobacco. To find out more on how to take action on October 13th, read over our Seen Enough Tobacco Day Guide.

For more information on Seen Enough Tobacco Day, visit tobaccofreenys.org/our-focus/seenenoughtobacco/.

To learn more about flavored tobacco, you can read Truth Initiative’s report HERE.

Find out more about the harms of tobacco at Tobacco-Free CNY website.