Smoking affects pets, too!

Olivia and Elaina have written about the damage that tobacco causes to the environment and young children—but it doesn’t stop there! I came across some information about the harm that secondhand smoke exposure has on pets. They can be affected by secondhand smoke just as much as humans, but unlike you and me, pets have little chance to step outside and escape all the hazardous to...

Cigarette Butts Are Poisonous To Fish

It’s estimated that some 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are thrown on the ground or in bodies of water each year. For the record, there are 12 zeros in a trillion, that’s a whole lot of litter.

We know that butts can be harmful to many animals if they happen to ingest them but a new study out of San Diego State University suggests that not all animals h...

The Obesity Challenge

50 years ago President John Kennedy had a vision. It was big. It was scary and when he first said the words it came as a shock to the public. President Kennedy said he wanted the United States to put a man on the moon. A real live human being on the moon?!? There was no way he could be serious, but he was. Only a few years later did Neil Armstrong take the first step on the moon.

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The Mouse House…and other horrors

Animal testing on mice and rats has been an accepted scientific practice for years, so finding out that tobacco companies were using these methods was not a surprise.  But after the Master Settlement Agreement in 1998, we got access to a whole new set of information—and what we found out was not pretty.

In addition to mice and rats, the tobacco industry had also done sc...

(un)Flavor(ed) Country

Apple-flavored tobacco will no longer be available in the Big Apple. A federal district court judge upheld a city ban that prohibits the sale of all flavored tobacco products (except cigarettes), with the exception of menthol and mint-flavored products.

According to a recent article, the ban pertains to “any fruit, chocolate, vanilla, honey, candy, cocoa, dessert...

Obama's Great American Smokeout Message

Today is the American Cancer Society's "Great American Smokeout." Our recently smokefree President, has marked the occasion by making this video that not only shows support for the Great American...

Rates Are Down and That's a Step Up

    With smoking down, things are looking up in New York. According to a recent study smoking rates have dropped by a whopping 35% in New York and the state has reached an all-time low 14% smoking rate.

Mayor Bloomberg attributed the decrease preventative legislation that made smoking not only harder to do in public but considerably more expensive ...

Meet Our Newest Y St. Coordinator!

What up, Y-Sters!!  I’d like to thank all of you wonderful folks that I’ve already met digitally on Helix and the good ‘ol Facebook for being so welcoming.  I’m coming onto the team as the newest Y St. Coordinator managing the Central and Southeast areas of Virginia.  A lil’ bit of background about me: I’m originally from Pottstown, PA&mdash...

Majority of Americans support Public Smoking Bans

Back in 2001 Americans were asked a question for the first time: “Do you support a ban of smoking in all public places?”

That’s right--it was only 10 years ago that the concept of public smoking being illegal was even introduced! At the time, only 39% of Americans supported a ban on smoking in all public places. That means about 6 in every 10 people in the countr...

The FDA hears from Y St.

In mid-September, 2 Y St. members and 2 Evolvement members flew to Boston to attend a special session held by the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP). The FDA wanted to hear the youth perspective about tobacco prevention methods so they could best determine their strategies for their future efforts in tobacco regulations.

Judy H. from Midlothian,...