Great American Smokeout

The Great American Smokeout is an opportunity to ask smokers to quit or at least make a quit plan, and we need to make sure our youth don’t become smokers. Staten Island’s adult smoking rate is the highest of the five boroughs (currently 17.4%) and sadly the average age of a new smoker is just 13 years old.

Tobacco-Free Staten Island is working to end the social acceptability of tobacco use on Staten Island. That’s why the Tobacco Control Program funded by New York State recently launched the SeenEnoughTobacco campaign to raise awareness of the impact billions of dollars of tobacco marketing has on our youth in Staten Island and around the state. The Reality Check youth continue to work with the community to educate and bring awareness to create a tobacco-free generation.

Reality Check

The JCC has housed Reality Check for over 15 years. Reality Check is the youth action component of Tobacco-Free Staten Island and is a teen-led, adult-supported program working across New York State. Reality Check aims to expose the manipulative and deceptive marketing tactics of the tobacco industry, which actively exploits and markets a deadly and addictive product that is enticing to youth.

Reality Check youth are equipped with the knowledge and resources to combat the industry and take a stance on issues concerning them. Teens meet weekly, make new friends and discuss issues that involve them. They are empowered to create change, write letters and speak directly to elected officials. The youth travel to the New York State Capitol at least once a year and attend annual meetings.

Tobacco — Free Staten Island (TFSI)

In 2016 a Tobacco-Free Staten Island (TFSI) Coalition was formed to create a tight knit, comprehensive communication exchange between all interested agencies. The goals of the coalition are to increase the dialogue, education and awareness of issues related to tobacco use and to launch a targeted effort to reduce the burden of tobacco use on our borough’s residents.

• TFSI is comprised of adults and youth (Reality Check) dedicated to promoting a healthy, tobacco-free norm.

• There are 4 initiatives: Point of Sale, Tobacco-Free Outdoors, Smoke-Free Multi-Unit Housing and Smoke-Free Media.

• As tobacco continues to take a terrible toll on the lives of Staten Islanders, we are thankful for the support of our local community leaders and local teens.