Thanks to Tri City Rentals , apartment renters will have many more options to breathe smoke-free air in their homes in the near future.  Starting September 1,  Tri City began converting all of their apartments in the Capital Region to a smoke-free policy which will prohibit smoking and vaping in all indoor spaces and within 50 feet of their properties. Read about it here The post Tri City Rentals Goes Smoke-Free appeared first on Capital District Tobacco-Free Communities ..read more

Under the direction of teacher David Easton, Albany High School photography students were “hired” by CDTFC to design educational posters calling attention to young people’s use of flavored vapes and the need to bolster enforcement of NYS law prohibiting their continued sale. These three submissions were selected for their powerful imagery and adherence to the theme. Mr. Easton regularly assigns a class project related to advertising propaganda and what better source material than the tobacco industry’s decades-long history of misinformation and deceit about the harms of tobacco use?  CDT ..read more

Capital District Reality Check youth responded to the May 31 World No Tobacco Day call to action to “step in and speak out” about the predatory tactics of the tobacco industry with this newly released video.  RC member interviews with their high school teachers, school administrators and fellow students shed light on the problem of youth vaping and how disruptive it is to the school day and to the learning environment. Even though NYS banned the sale of flavored vapes containing nicotine in 2020, it’s still easy for underage youth to get them because of loopholes in the law which pose obs ..read more

In 2020, New York banned the flavored e-cigarette products that had the strongest youth appeal and that fueled the youth vaping epidemic. But the tobacco industry has found ways around the existing law resulting in New York State having the highest continued retail availability of prohibited products of any of the six states that have an e-cigarette flavor ban in place. In our own local observations of tobacco retailers, 15 out of 41 stores in Albany County were selling flavored vapes; 16 out of 31 retailers in Schenectady County were selling flavored vapes. The widespread availability of ille ..read more

Click here to apply now! The post We’re hiring! appeared first on Capital District Tobacco-Free Communities ..read more

Tobacco ads and displays are so ubiquitous, most non-smoking adults don’t even notice them. But once you DO notice, you’ll wonder how you could possibly have missed them. Noticing how pervasive and aggressive tobacco marketing is also makes it easier to understand why it has such a profound impact on adult and youth tobacco use. That’s why we chose to summarize the findings from our most recent round of Licensed Tobacco Retailer store observations into a visual tour of what tobacco marketing and promotion actually looks like in the City of Albany’s highest poverty neighborhoods. These neighbor ..read more

Gen Z’ers have never known the ritual of renting a movie at Blockbuster, burning a CD or having to develop film before you can view a photo. Such is the power of technological progress. New York State Gen Z’ers have also never known the ritual of being asked “Smoking or non-smoking?” upon entering enter a restaurant, nor have they worked a part-time or summer job in a smoke-filled environment. Such is the power of tobacco-control progress. July 24, 2023, marked the 20th anniversary of New York state’s Clean Indoor Air Act (CIAA), a law that transformed nearly all indoor workplaces, including b ..read more

As part of our local education efforts, we’re pleased to release a video testimonial from Rivquah Caldwell, a Schenectady resident who experienced firsthand the suffering and harms caused by tobacco use as one of several members of her family who all smoked menthol cigarettes. Her voice, and that of others like her, need to be heard. Please watch, listen and share. The post Community Spotlight Video: Rivquah appeared first on Capital District Tobacco-Free Communities ..read more

A neighborhood’s greatest assets are the people who live there. And nowhere was that more evident than at Hood’s House of Hoops (HHH) on June 13 as West Hill neighborhood residents took us up on our  invitation to meet, greet. . .and eat. In partnership with HHH President and CEO Jamil Hood, Sr., the CDTFC team organized a “Play Hard, Breathe Easy” BBQ to welcome summer and celebrate the West Hill community. And what better way to celebrate than with fun activities, games, prizes, and food catered by West Hill’s own Allie B’s Cozy Kitchen. [See image gallery at smokefreecapital.org] HHH i ..read more

Today (May 31) is World No Tobacco Day. This year’s theme is Grow Food, Not Tobacco. The World Health Organization (WHO) is focusing on how tobacco growing harms our health, the health of farmers, and the health of our planet.  According to WHO, the tobacco industry is contributing to the global food crisis. Some reasons include:  Scarcity of quality land. Quality land is increasingly being used for tobacco growing in low- and middle-income countries, reducing the amount of land that could be used for crops to nourish people. Limited choice of alternatives ..read more