January is the best time of the year to start something great! People all over the world make resolutions to live better lives and achieve personal and professional goals. Some people decide to eat healthier, exercise more or stop smoking. Quitting smoking can save your life and the lives of people around you, as second-hand smoke is also deadly. Smoking is the number one cause of preventable death in New York state. Although smoking rates are on the decline, there’s still a lot to do to chip away at the tobacco epidemic.
NYC Smoke-Free, a program of Public Health Solutions, wants to encourage and support those on their quit-smoking resolution endeavors. We work with organizations such as churches, educational institutions, stores and restaurants, whether large or small, to adopt voluntary policies that can help to protect the health of their residents and consumers.
These policies are comprehensive, voluntary and, when adopted, prohibit smoking 25-50 feet from all entrances of the organizations, grounds and vehicles (if applicable). The adoption of these policies helps to encourage no smoking and, for those who do, it can encourage quitting attempts.
In New York, we spend over $10 billion to care for people made sick from tobacco-related illnesses. We work with organizational leadership, providing all the technical assistance and signage for the organizations who wish to take this bold public health step in keeping everyone in the community healthy and free of deadly tobacco smoke.
At NYC Smoke-Free we help create safe spaces free of tobacco use and smoke where people live, work, play and pray.
For more information on NYC Smoke-Free or to lend support in ending NYC’s devastating tobacco epidemic please visit www.NYCSmokeFree.org.
Guillermo Flores is the Bronx Community Engagement Manager for NYC Smoke-Free.
