Tobacco
The Burden of Tobacco Use and Secondhand Smoke
Smoking kills 25,500 people every year in New York State. Secondhand smoke kills 2,500 New Yorkers every year. At any one time, there are estimated to be 570,000 New Yorkers afflicted with serious disease directly attributable to their smoking. It is projected that 389,000 New York State youth age 0-17 will die from smoking.
Who We Are
The New York State Department of Health Tobacco Control Program (NYTCP) implements evidence-based and promising strategies to prevent and reduce tobacco use. The NYTCP envisions a tobacco-free society for all New Yorkers. The program began in January 2000, and is built on a foundation of community partners using evidence-based strategies from the Guide to Community Preventive Services to decrease tobacco use. Over time, the program has effectively implemented a strong clean indoor air law, maintained support for high tobacco taxes to keep the price of tobacco high, and worked to increase access to effective cessation services and motivate smokers to try to quit. As a result of programmatic efforts, youth and adult smoking rates are at their lowest levels on record.
2010 - 2013 Goal
The Tobacco Control Program plan, Leading the Way Toward a Tobacco-Free Society 2010-2013, may be viewed at the below link. Due to formatting issues, sections of the plan do not translate well to the on-line environment. A hard copy of the plan may be requested by calling 518-474-1515 or emailing tcp@health.state.ny.us.
- Leading the Way Toward a Tobacco-Free Society 2010–2013 (PDF, 1.46MB, 12pg.)
- Vision: All New Yorkers living in a tobacco-free society
- Mission: To reduce morbidity and mortality and alleviate the social and economic burden caused by tobacco use in New York State
- Goal: To reduce the prevalence of adult cigarette use to 12% and adolescent cigarette use to 10% by 2013
What We Do
- Use the most current research findings to drive program activities.
- Work collaboratively with state and national partners to ensure program goals are met.
- Implement hard hitting, emotionally evocative media campaigns to push smokers into cessation, educate the public about the dangers of second hand smoke and expose the deceptive practices of the tobacco industry.
- Implement policy changes to push smokers to cessation, keep the price of tobacco products high and implement tobacco dependence screening and treatment in all health-care settings.
Priority Issues
- Eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke for all New Yorkers.
- Decrease the social acceptability of tobacco use.
- Promote cessation from tobacco use.
- Prevent the initiation of tobacco use among youth and young adults.
- Build and maintain an effective tobacco control infrastructure.
- Contribute to the science of tobacco control.
