1. Let Me Tell You Why

    Sharika Shithi, an 11th grader at Stuyvesant High School and summer intern with NYC Smoke-Free, penned a powerful message about Big Tobacco’s impact on young people and why it is imperative for everyone to stand together to protect the health of teens.

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  2. Igniting Action at Youth Summit 2023: An Acrostic Poem

    Written by Brooklyn Reality Check Youth Engagement Manager, Brittany Hale, and Student Interns, Fatou Wague, June Hong, Magnus Jackson, and Starr Sinclair. Y – Youth “By spending their time at the mall gathering signatures on giant mural, palm card pitching, and hands on activities and games such as cornhole, the youth implemented both work and […]

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  3. Unmasking the Rainbow: Illuminating Tobacco Disparities in the LGBTQIA+ Population

    NYC Smoke-Free proudly supports the LGBTQIA+ community. By having conversation and providing educational resources, we hope to empower individuals to make wise health decisions and to shed light on these exploitative marketing practices. The LGBTQIA+ community deserves to be celebrated, supported, and protected from the harmful influences of tobacco companies.

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  4. World No Tobacco Day 2023

    For World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) 2023, NYC Smoke-Free joined members of the Menthol Kills NYC Coalition, City Councilwoman Rita Joseph, Dr. Hazel N. Dukes of the NAACP New York State Conference, and other community and health advocates for a press event at City Hall regarding the negative impact of menthol tobacco products on New […]

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  5. Not Just a Vapor: Big Tobacco’s Myth & Consequences

    Written by Queens Reality Check Youth Engagement Manager, Ayisha Green In NYC, 8,000 public high school students smoke cigarettes. This number is higher than expected, considering the decline in smoking rates. Smoking rates have been on the decline since the Surgeon General’s Report of 1964, when smoking cigarettes was linked to lung cancer. The following […]

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  6. 2020: A Year in Review

    A Year of Progress… For many people around the world, 2020 was a very difficult year – New York City was no exception. Despite the life changing adjustments we’ve faced as a result of COVID-19, we continue to persevere. Here at NYC Smoke-Free, that means continuing to raise awareness of health disparities from the lens […]

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  7. Like A Champ

    “I got my father to quit smoking,” said an overjoyed Reality Check teen Ryan Newman just two years after he joined our teen advocacy program while attending the High School for Public Service. Ryan hails from East Flatbush, Brooklyn and was introduced to our work in the summer of 2015 through the Futures & Options’ […]

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  8. Summertime Grind

    Summer 2022 By: Edric Robinson, Brooklyn Reality Check Manager SUMMER, SUMMER, SUMMERTIME… YOUTH ADVOCATES KICK BUTTS TO UNWIND… Alright we took and modified that title from the classic song “Summertime” by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, but the point is, it’s heating up outside…a sign that summer has arrived! Now with summer upon […]

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  9. WNTD2020: Tobacco Exposed

    In response to the tobacco industries’ systematic, targeted and sustained tactics to attract a new generation of tobacco users, World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) established by the World Health Organization, has been observed annually and worldwide on May 31st since 1987 . This year, NYC Smoke-Free at Public Health Solutions has partnered with the NYC […]

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