On September 30, 2018, over 30 Reality Check Youth Leaders and tobacco control staff from across 15 counties – Cortland, Tompkins, Chenango, Broome, Tioga, Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben, Cayuga, Oswego, Onondaga, Ontario, Seneca, Wayne, and Yates – gathered at Orenda Springs Experiential Learning Center in Marcellus, NY to meet, bond, organize and act against Big Tobacco. Reality Check held a day long training for new and current Reality Check youth members. Youth, between the

Last week in Cazenovia, members of the Reality Check Program of Cortland, Tompkins & Chenango Counties joined 150 Reality Check teens representing every region of New York State to rally against what they say is deceitful marketing by the tobacco industry that kids find appealing. Protesting that they have #SeenEnoughTobacco, youth speakers cited 13 as the average age of a new smoker in the state, calling attention to the problem of tobacco marketing in stores where kids can

While there are several factors that contribute to youth smoking, exposure to smoking in movies is a powerful pro-tobacco influence on youth today, accounting for the recruitment of half of all new adolescent smokers. The tobacco industry uses tobacco imagery and brand identification on screen to both normalize and glamorize tobacco use. With teens consuming more media than ever, the media viewed is often unregulated, giving the tobacco industry direct access to teens’ daily

New York State (NYS) Tobacco Control Partners and youth supporters were at the Capitol February 6, 2018 focusing not only on their successes, but on the unmet needs in tobacco control efforts around the state, particularly among highest need communities. Throughout New York, 33.7% of those with mental illness, 27.5% with less than a high school education and 26.8% who earn less than $15,000 a year smoke cigarettes. “We celebrate the adult smoking rate dropping to an all-time

The Tobacco Free Zone/Reality Check program continues its pursuit in protecting young people from tobacco industry deceitful messaging, and protecting residents from harmful smoke exposure. Leading the way to engage community stakeholders to take action are dedicated youth involved in the Reality Check program. Last year, we highlighted the work of Rhett Genung and high school students in the Norwich City School District. Joining the effort this year is Pat Yaddow and studen

On November 16, 2017, the Village of Dryden joined more than 450 municipalities in New York State that have passed regulations restricting tobacco use in outdoor recreational areas - each of which demonstrates a healthy, tobacco-free community norm, especially for youth. Boys from the William George Agency had an important role in bringing the smoking policy back to the forefront. In late fall 2016, Reality Check began working with boys in one of the cottages - learning sta

The Tobacco Free Zone & Reality Check Programs of Cortland, Tompkins & Chenango Counties, and our colleagues from across NYS, are drawing awareness to the problem of tobacco industry store marketing and its impact on youth tobacco use & perceptions of tobacco use. Because tobacco marketing is a proven cause of youth smoking, October 13th has been designated Seen Enough Tobacco Day statewide. Reality Check of New York youth will host local events across New York State to help

(Cortland, NY July 21, 2017) Cortland Junior Senior High School Senior Katherine Couture and Junior Kelsey Gibbons and Norwich High School Junior Steven King and Sophomore Morgan Burdick, local leaders in the statewide fight to protect future generations from the death and disease of tobacco use, have just returned from the annual Reality Check of New York Youth Summit at Cazenovia College in Central New York. Along with 150 other youth from around the state, they made plans

The fight against tobacco is about saving lives. It’s also about exposing the deceptive and manipulative practices of the tobacco industry that they use to target youth, which is the goal of Reality Check, a Tobacco Free Zone program through the Cortland County Health Department. Reality Check youth leaders from Cortland Junior Senior High School presented to the Cortland Rotary Club Tuesday on the impact of tobacco marketing has on youth, here in the City of Cortland. “The a