Center for a Tobacco-Free Finger Lakes

03/02/2026

To***coFreeNYS NYSDOH - New York State Health Department NYS Bureau of To***co Control: In 2024, over 80% of adults who smoke reported seeing a health care provider in the past 12 months; among them:
• ASK: 89.9% were asked if they smoke ci******es.
• ADVISE: 73.4% reported their health care provider advised them to quit smoking.
• ASSIST: 53.1% reported their health care provider offered assistance to quit.
https://www.health.ny.gov/prevention/to***co_control/reports/statshots/volume18/n1_quit_smoking.pdf
***coFree

03/02/2026

American Lung Association: 1.5% of Adults who live in rural areas smoke, compared to urban areas where only 10.1% are smokers, on average. https://www.lung.org/research/sotc/by-the-numbers/top-10-populations-affected ***co ***coFree

It's no secret that quitting smoking significantly reduces the risk for a wide range of diseases and early death.

02/26/2026

National Youth To***co Survey data outlines how children are targeted by big To***co:

Data from the 2024 National Youth To***co Survey (NYTS) show more than 1.6 million middle and high school students using e-ci******es in 2024, the most common form of to***co use among youth in the U.S.

02/26/2026

UK policies protect children from dangers of va**ng:

The government is launching a consultation on extending smoke-free places and introducing vape-free and heated to***co-free spaces.

01/28/2026

01/28/2026

Join the NYS Citizen Preparedness Training Program and learn how to prepare for emergencies.

Participants will get tools and resources to build a family emergency plan, stock supplies, and feel confident when disaster strikes.

Learn more: cityofrochester.gov/citizenpreparednesstraining

01/28/2026

The American Lung Association releases its State of To***co Report, highlighting the Federal cuts to the Office on Smoking and Health, and more. https://www.lung.org/research/sotc
***co ***coprevention

This report evaluates states and the federal government on the proven-effective to***co control laws and policies necessary to save lives.

01/23/2026

This week we met with New York State Senator Tom O'Mara, Assemblyman Christopher S. Friend and Assemblyman Phil Palmesano alongside CASA-Trinity/Drug Free Community Coalition of Chemung County and our to***co control partners - Center for a To***co-Free Finger Lakes, St. Joseph's Health - Syracuse, NY, To***co-Free Western New York, To***co Action Coalition of the Finger Lakes (TACFL), and To***co Free Broome & Tioga.

Thank you to our local legislators for taking the time to visit and learn more about initiatives that reduce the negative impact of commercial to***co and harmful ni****ne products. We appreciate your leadership, partnership, and continued commitment to improving the health and well-being of our communities.

To learn more about To***coFreeNYS, visit www.to***cofreenys.org.

12/10/2025

🌟 STTAC is BACK in the Southern Tier! 🌟

We’re excited to welcome the STTAC Southern Tier To***co Awareness Coalition (STTAC) back to Chemung, Schuyler, and Steuben counties.

For more than 25 years, STTAC has been working across New York State to create healthier, to***co-free communities and protect residents from harmful industry influence.

STTAC partners with youth, schools, local leaders, colleges, businesses, and community organizations to reduce to***co exposure and build safer places for all of us to live, work, learn, and play.

Their youth program, Reality Check, continues to inspire the next generation of community leaders. This youth-led, adult-supported movement gives young people the tools to speak up about deceptive to***co marketing, collect real data in their neighborhoods, engage decision-makers, and even travel to statewide events and Washington, D.C. to advocate for change.

We’re grateful to have STTAC back in our region and look forward to supporting their efforts to keep our community healthy and to***co-free. 💙🌱

12/10/2025

We would like to extend our congratulations to Dr. Gajendra! University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry

Eastman Institute for Oral Health has appointed Sangeeta Gajendra, DDS, MPH, MS, (GenDen '04, MS ‘12) as chair of Community Dentistry and Oral Disease Prevention.

11/25/2025

Cannabis Use linked to progression to to***co use: article --- ***co

Cannabis use in 2017 was associated with regular to***co use in 2021 among US youth and young adults who had never regularly used to***co.

11/07/2025

Know the facts.