New York State’s Comprehensive Tobacco Prevention and Control Program
As a result of a comprehensive approach, our local region has achieved significant reductions in youth and adult tobacco use.
Community-Based Programs
Community Partnerships: Tobacco-Free New York State
Community partnerships work to change the community environment to support the tobacco-free norm.
Partnerships…
* Engage local stakeholders;
* Educate community leaders and the public; and
* Mobilize the community to strengthen tobacco-related policies to
- Restrict the use and availability of tobacco products;
- Restrict tobacco product promotion; and
- Limit opportunities for exposure to secondhand smoke.
Youth Action Programs: Reality Check
Youth action programs train youth to become activists in the movement to change community norms regarding tobacco use. These programs engage middle- and high school-aged youth in activities aimed at deglamorizing and de-normalizing tobacco use in their communities.
Colleges for Change Programs
Colleges for Change programs engage young adult leaders to work on and off the college campus to limit where and how tobacco products are promoted, advertised and sold, and to
advance local and statewide policy action to prevent and reduce tobacco use. They focus on those aspects of the community and college environment that most influence tobacco use among young adults.
Tobacco-Free School Policy Programs
This program provides resources and support to schools around the state seeking to develop, implement, and enforce effective tobacco-free school policies. School committee members work closely with program director, to promote healthy lifestyles and reduce the social acceptance of tobacco use. Schools play a key role in creating attitude and behavioral change among staff, students, and their families and members of the community. By creating an environment that supports and promotes tobacco-free values and behaviors, schools can be leaders in the fight for tobacco-free lifestyles for children and adults.
Media and Counter-Marketing
Media campaigns educate New Yorkers about the health risks of tobacco use and the dangers of secondhand smoke, motivating tobacco users to stop, and promoting use of the New York State Smokers’ Quitline. Counter-marketing efforts seek to expose the manipulative and deceptive marketing practices of the tobacco industry, deglamorize tobacco use, and build and sustain a tobacco-free norm.
Tobacco Use Cessation in New York State
The multi-pronged cessation approach in New York State works to change the environment in which New Yorkers live, work and play, with the goal of driving tobacco users to quit. Most users quit on their own and, for those who want or need help, effective treatments are available.
Cessation Centers
Cessation Centers model their approach on public health service guidelines. Cessation Centers partner with health care provider organizations, providing technical assistance on how to implement systems to institutionalize screening for all patients for tobacco use, providing brief advice to quit, and providing assistance to help patients quit successfully. Cessation Centers help with the process of policy and systems change and provide training.
New York State Smokers’ Quitline
Provides free nicotine patches, gum or lozenges for eligible NYS smokers, trained Quitline specialists offering coaching and encouragement for quit attempts, information about local stop smoking programs and informational taped messages.
1-866-NY-QUITS (1-866-697-8487) ~ NYSmokeFree.com
Surveillance, Evaluation and Research
The surveillance and evaluation team oversees evaluation of funded programs, tracks trends in tobacco control outcomes, and collaborates with an outside vendor that conducts comprehensive program evaluation.
