Per the notice below, the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) is highlighting the 25th anniversary of its Tobacco Control Program.

New York State Department of Health’s Tobacco Control Program Celebrates 25th Anniversary

Department Celebrates Success in Reducing Tobacco-Related Harms in New York State

The New York State Department of Health announces the 25th Anniversary of its Tobacco Control Program.  The Program and its partners have led efforts to protect New Yorkers from the tobacco industry and strengthen public health in communities throughout the state.  The Department celebrates the program's longstanding commitment to reducing commercial tobacco use and its related harms and remains dedicated to ensuring that all New Yorkers can live smoke-free lives.

"As we celebrate this 25-year anniversary milestone, we acknowledge the exceptional work that the Department's Tobacco Control Program and its partners have done to protect New Yorkers from the harms of smoking and recognize the many success stories of helping residents quit smoking," State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said.  "Smoking causes long-term disease, disability and premature death, so I am proud of the program for addressing the harmful impact tobacco has on communities for more than two decades."

The Department envisions a commercial tobacco-free and vape-free society for all New Yorkers.  Since 2000, the State's Tobacco Control Program has implemented comprehensive programming to reduce illness, disability, and death related to commercial tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure, and to alleviate social and economic inequities caused by tobacco use.  The program uses an evidence-based, policy-driven, and population-level approach to tobacco control and prevention with a commitment to promote health equity among populations disproportionately impacted by tobacco marketing and use.  As an independently evaluated program, the Tobacco Control Program has seen significant success, contributing to record-low youth and adult smoking rates and a nearly 50 percent decrease in the lung cancer death rate in the state.  Notably, it has led to thousands of lives and billions of dollars saved in health care costs associated with smoking.  The Program has demonstrated a remarkable return on investment, with New York seeing a $15 return for every dollar spent on the program.

As these achievements deserve celebration, it is crucial to recognize that tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death in New York State and nationwide and that tobacco control efforts continue to face challenges, including industry-related influences and the changing tobacco product landscape.  More than 1.6 million New York State adults currently use cigarettes, and progress in reducing tobacco use and its related harms has been uneven across communities in the state.  In addition, the recent surge in youth e-cigarette use poses a serious threat to long-term tobacco reduction efforts as more and more young people are put at risk for nicotine addiction.  While recent data indicates that youth tobacco use has declined, one in five high school students in New York State report using any form of tobacco, with e-cigarettes being the most used product.  Tobacco use in any form is not safe but is particularly harmful for youth and young adults.

The Tobacco Control Program has established a comprehensive infrastructure that includes health communications and media, tobacco use treatment interventions, community programming and statewide and community action.  A key focus of the program is to promote tobacco-free norms, with New York State being a pioneer in establishing strong tobacco control policies.  The Clean Indoor Air Act of 2003 has been a pivotal policy in protecting New Yorkers from exposure to deadly secondhand smoke.  In recent years, the State has enacted several important policies, including raising the minimum age for purchasing tobacco products, prohibiting the sale of flavored e-cigarettes or nicotine vapor products, including menthol-flavored products, and prohibiting tobacco product price discounting.  Many local regulations and policies have been adopted to further protect residents, such as prohibiting smoking and e-cigarette use in multi-unit housing and public spaces, as well as regulating tobacco and e-cigarette retail locations.

To ensure that all New Yorkers have the opportunity to live smoke-free lives, the Tobacco Control Program provides funding to community grantees through its Advancing Tobacco-Free Communities and Health Systems for Tobacco-Free New York initiatives.  Statewide earned and paid media campaigns increase awareness of the problem of tobacco and e-cigarette use and how to get help quitting.  These hard-hitting campaigns have proven effective in changing attitudes towards smoking and encouraging people to quit.  The Program also supports New Yorkers in their quitting efforts through the New York State Quitline which provides free, confidential services, including information, tools, quit coaching, support in both English and Spanish, and free Nicotine Replacement Therapy, such as patches and gum.  The Quitline has helped more than 1 million people in their journey to quit smoking and has recently expanded its services to include text-based support and educational resources on menthol tobacco products, including how menthol affects African American, LGBTQIA+, and Hispanic or Latinx communities.  Information about the Department's Tobacco Control Program can be found here.