As June comes to a close we can all reflect on the changes that we have endured over the past few months and as we continue to move through the different phases of re-opening in our area, we also need to consider safety.  June was National Safety Month, in which we highlighted some important areas through our social media and outreach.  We provided information pertaining to topics ranging from teen water safety in the summer to general workplace safety and mental health safety in the workplace.  This is a topic that we will also carry throughout the summer as well! 

HCC is also proud to announce our new Spectrum Commercial!  We have a new commercial that will be on several of the local cable channels this summer, so if you see it we would love to hear from you.  Send us an email at hcc@councilonaddiction.org or visit us on our Facebook page @yourlifeyourchoicehcc.  Soon we will also be beginning our new partnerships with local law enforcement in support of preventing local youth alcohol and substance use.  Finally, our annual pizza box sticker campaign will be launched this summer.  This is where we provide an important prevention message and local businesses throughout Cattaraugus County support us by placing the stickers on the pizza boxes when you place an order. 

HCC would also like to congratulate the Graduating Class of 2020!  We wish you all the best in your future!  

Tara Estright
Healthy Cattaraugus County
Community Coalition Coordinator

For years state tobacco control and prevention programs have been successful lowering youth exposure to nicotine, by lowering the youth smoking rates, unfortunately vaping is reversing all that hard work. In New York State between 2000 and 2018 the high school youth smoking rate decreased 82%.i From 2016 to 2018 the high school smoking rate increased from 4.3% to 4.8% the first increase in New York State since 2000.i In contrast, use of e-cigarette among high school youth continues to rise. Between 2014 and 2018, the rate increased fully 160%, 10.5% to 27.4%.i E-cigarettes remain the most commonly used tobacco product among youth surpassing cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, and hookah. 
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This year the response to help reverse youth exposure to nicotine comes in two different forms. First, during Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) National Prevention Week 6 Cattaraugus County teen leaders from Reality Check join more than 300 other youth from around New York State, as well as Nebraska, Massachusetts, Arkansas, Delaware, Wisconsin, New Hampshire and Idaho to take on Altria Group executives and shareholders for the fifth consecutive year. Altria, the parent company of Philip Morris USA, is one of the world’s largest producers and marketers of tobacco and tobacco products.  

n place of live action outside the Shareholder’s Meeting in Richmond, VA, as the youth have done in prior years, they’ve taken their action online, using social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok to raise their voices during Mobilize Against Tobacco Lies’ Week of Engagement. Their goal: To engage others, from members of their community to concerned citizens across the world, by drawing attention to the many years of tobacco industry lies and revealing the truth.

Seven days of action, seven deadly lies
Going virtual wasn’t the only change event organizers made for 2020. As they pivoted their mindsets from travel arrangements and logistics of a live event to technology and inclusivity of a virtual one, they also extended the once three-day event to seven days.
From Monday, May 11 through Sunday, May 17, youth champions will focus their actions on seven deadly lies the industry has been telling the public for years, countered by facts and truths. 
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The Seven Deadly Lies are: 

• Nicotine is not addictive; 
• Tobacco marketing is aimed at adults; 
• Using tobacco makes you cool;
• The tobacco industry is socially responsible; 
• Tobacco products are not harmful; 
• Flavors are not meant for kids; and 
• Menthol isn’t a flavor

The teens, representing Reality Check from across New York State are mobilizing against the lies told by big tobacco companies, and are telling elected officials and people in their communities: Big Tobacco won't stop marketing their deadly products, so we can't stop the fight to share the facts about deadly tobacco products. 

Some youth will take their fight right to the top – the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Altria Group, Billy Gifford. Yasmine Arabaty from Olean’s Reality Check was appointed by a shareholder to represent them and address corporate tobacco executives and ask a question on May 14 during the virtual shareholders’ meeting.  Yasmine asked about the difference between heating elements in the new heat not burn product IQOS and regular cigarettes. Yasmine was joined by 6 other youth who were able to ask the CEO a question.

“Philip Morris USA claims it doesn’t market to kids and doesn’t want them to start smoking,” said Jon Chaffee, coordinator of the Reality Check program of Tobacco Free Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, and Allegany. “If that’s the case, then why is the tobacco industry spending $9.6 billion per year to market their products  where kids are likely to see them?”

Studies show that kids who shop in stores with tobacco marketing, such as gas stations and convenience stores two or more times a week are 64% more likely to start smoking than their friends who don’t shop where tobacco is marketed. 

“Despite what they say, Philip Morris USA spends billions marketing their deadly products right in front of us,” said Yasmine Arabaty, Olean High School freshman and Reality Check champion. “And this is only one of the lies they tell. Enough is enough, already!”

Here are more facts: 
- According to the 2014 Surgeon General's Report, if current smoking rates continue, 5.6 million Americans younger than 18 who are alive today are projected to die prematurely from smoking-related disease. 
- The average age of new smoker in New York State is 13 years old. 

In preparation for the virtual demonstration on Thursday, May 14, Reality Check youth will spend the days leading up to the meeting, plus three days after, learning about tobacco control policies, how the tobacco industry contracts with retailers to get their products and messages in front of youth audiences, and how they can stand up, speak out and make a difference in the fight against Big Tobacco. 

Virtual speakers and trainers include Dr. Phillip Gardiner, a public health activist, administrator, evaluator and researcher with the University of California's Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program, as well as leaders of Dover Youth 2 Youth of Dover, NH and Counter Tools of Chapel Hill, NC. 

Secondly, New York State protects youth from a lifetime of nicotine addiction by passing laws that ends the sale of flavored e-cigarettes in New York State on May 18, as does the sale of all tobacco products in pharmacies. These are huge steps forward for New Yorkers health and wellbeing. Research shows that the flavors in e-cigarettes attract kids and the nicotine addicts them.ii Nearly 40% of high school seniors in New York State use e-cigarettes, also referred to as “vaping,” and 27% of all high school youth vape.iii Ending the sale of tobacco products in pharmacies reduces the number of stores that sell tobacco products in every community, an effective way of supporting tobacco users who want to quit and reducing youth exposure to tobacco marketing. Hopefully, these measures will help to get youth exposure to nicotine back on the right track and decreasing.
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New York State does have a resource for young people who are trying to quit is help, which can be found by texting “DropTheVape” to 88709.  All young people who currently use any tobacco product is encouraged to quit, and youth who don’t currently use a tobacco product are encouraged to not start. 

Welcome to the new HCC Member Blog!  We hope that everyone is staying safe and healthy during this difficult time.  Over the next few months you will notice that HCC’s website is going to be experiencing some changes.  We are excited for this opportunity to create a new look and to bring you more information that is current.  Our new website is not only going to serve as a hub for community resources but to also share coalition experiences with you.  For example, in the month of April, we brought recognition to Alcohol Awareness Month.  Alcohol Awareness is very important to our coalition as one of the goals that has founded our work is to reduce underage alcohol use in Cattaraugus County.  Did you know that alcohol is the most abused substance by youth?  Not only is it illegal to supply alcohol to minors, but there are so many risks involved with underage drinking from engaging in dangerous activities to suffering from anxiety and depression.  It is also important to note that youth who begin drinking are at a greater risk for developing an alcohol use disorder.  
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But, the good news is that youth want to hear from adults, and they are listening!  In the 2019 Cattaraugus County Prevention Needs Assessment Survey that was administered to students in grades 6-12, it was reported that 96% of students feel their parents disapprove of them using alcohol.  It was also found that 81% of students reported NOT drinking alcohol within the Past 30-days, however, only 64% feel that alcohol is harmful.  With that being said, the coalition continues to work to educate youth and adults on the dangers of underage drinking, which has also inspired the launch of our most recent contest.  In the month of April we launched a poster contest for students to tell us what they like to do that is “better than drinking.”  Please stay tuned for contest winners and poster submittals on our website!

Tara Estright
Healthy Cattaraugus County
Community Coalition Coordinator