This New Year, we are continuing the fight to protect the health of ALL New York City families. As we enter the second half of our year-long celebration of the 15th anniversary of the NYC Smoke-Free Air Act of 2002, here’s an end of year review as we say adieu to 2017 and highlight some of the biggest moments from the NYC Smoke-Free team.
Thank you to all of NYC Smoke-Free’s community partners, Reality Check student leaders, dedicated team, the New York State Department of Health Bureau of Tobacco Control, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and many, many more for your support and efforts to help end the tobacco epidemic!
August 17 – Our summer smoke-free movie series with NYU’s College of Global Public Health continued with a screening and panel discussion of “The Insider”. The panel, moderated by NYC Smoke-Free’s Julia Cuthbertson, included NYU’s Dr. Diana Silver, Karen Blumenfeld of NJ GASP, and NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Kevin Schroth.
Right now: panel discussing “The Insider” & how Big Tobacco is still manipulating the public 18 yrs after the film’s release #NYCSmokeFree pic.twitter.com/1fF5pKil05
— Danielle Hosein (@DanielleHosein1) August 17, 2017
August 28 – NYC Smoke-Free joined Mayor Bill de Blasio at the signing of a series of 7 comprehensive tobacco control legislation that will save more lives and create healthier neighborhoods for New York City families. Our very own Deidre Sully introduced the Mayor and spoke about her personal experience growing up with a family member living with the harmful effects of tobacco.
September 14 – The 2nd Annual North American Chinatown Smoke-Free Day was observed across the country. NYC Smoke-Free participated in a panel with the Chinese American community and public health partners to discuss ways to denormalize smoking and end tobacco disparities.
September 25-26 – NYC Smoke-Free Director, Deidre Sully, traveled to Atlanta, GA to join the New York State delegation at the Smoke-Free Public Housing Workshop, hosted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Cancer Society, and HUD.
October 13 – The inaugural Seen Enough Tobacco Day was celebrated across New York State. The NYC Smoke-Free team hosted a events in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens to raise awareness of the oversaturation of tobacco outlets in NYC neighborhoods. NYC Smoke-Free received proclaimations commemorating the day from Borough Presidents, as well as a letter of support from Mayor Bill de Blasio.
October 26 – NYC Smoke-Free was featured in the CDC Best Practices User Guide: Program Infrastructure in Tobacco Prevention and Control for developing strategic networked partnerships to help end the tobacco epidemic and protect the health of New York City families.
November 5-8 – The NYC Smoke-Free team traveled to Atlanta, GA to present a poster on approaches to end tobacco retail density in NYC neighborhoods and lead a roundtable discussion on our work on smoke-free affordable and supportive housing at the 2017 American Public Health Association Annual Meeting and Expo. We also met and exchanged ideas with tobacco control and public health advocates from across the country.
November 16 – In honor of the Great American Smokeout, an annual day sponsored by the American Cancer Society to bring awareness of the dangers of tobacco, NYC Smoke-Free hosted a series of events throughout the boroughs. Notably, SBH Health System (St. Barnabus Hospital) launched a public service announcement video on the tobacco industry’s manipulative marketing to African Americans. The video was created by NYC Smoke-Free | Reality Check student leader, Jayvonne Hines.
December 4 – NYC Smoke-Free debuted a set of interactive maps that illustrate the program’s impact and visualize how we have engaged neighborhoods to increase smoke-free protections in the home, as well as provide opportunity to expand the Reality Check youth engagement program.
December 15 – Our very own Deidre Sully was featured on the December edition of CMS & You: Smoking Cessation, where she discussed NYC Smoke-Free initiatives.
