Quitting Smoking Will Save NYC Smokers $3,000 a Year (5/28/08) - Beginning June 3, 2008 a pack of cigarettes will cost more than $8, adding up to almost $3,000 a year for the pack-a-day smoker, and making New York City cigarettes the most expensive in the country. Mayor Bloomberg proclaims June 3rd 'NYC Quits Day'. Click here to read the NYCDOHMH press release. Click here to view 'Quit June 3' website containing area resources.
Updated Clinical Practice Guideline (5/7/08) - The U.S. Public Health Service released the 2008 Clinical Practice Guideline Update: Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence. The Guideline Update is designed to provide an evidence-based blueprint for clinicians and health systems to assist patients who smoke to successfully quit tobacco use. Click here to view the Guideline and its companion materials.
Who's Smoking in New York (4/15/08) - The New York State Department of Health recenly posted a report exploring smoking prevalence in New York state. The goal of the report is to identify differences in the prevalence of smoking and in the numbers of smokers statewide among various population groups. Click here to read the report.
NYS Hikes Cigarette Tax (4/2/08) - New York's government leaders have agreed to boost the state cigarette tax ($1.50) by $1.25 per pack to create the nation's highest state cigarette tax. The average price of a pack of cigarettes is about $5.82 statewide, but there is an additional $1.50 New York City tax. That brings the total taxes on a pack of cigarettes for those who purchase in the city to $4.25 a pack. Click here to read more about the tax hike.
Don't Be Silent About Smoking (2/1/08) - The NYSDOH campaign, 'Don't Be Silent About Smoking', encourages NYS physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants to help smokers quit successfully by screening all patients for tobacco use; advising smokers to quit; and providing assistance to patients, including coaching and medication. Click the advertisement to visit the campaign website, www.talktoyourpatients.org, for more information and resources.
NYSDOH Health Commissioner Petitions FDA to Make Over-the-Counter Nicotine
Therapies as Easy to Buy as Cigarettes (1/28/08) - New York is the first state to petition the FDA to relax restrictions on the sale of nicotine patches, gum and lozenges. Right now, these are the safest forms of nicotine and are tightly regulated, while the most dangerous and deadly nicotine delivery system - cigarettes - is comparatively unregulated. A change in federal policy is essential to increase smokers' use of safe nicotine products, like patches, gum, and lozenges, in order to quit successfully. Click here to view the petition.
The Great American Smokeout is Nov. 15th (11/9/07) - Each year smokers in the US take part in the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout® by smoking less or quitting for the day on the 3rd Thursday of November. The event prompts people to stop using tobacco and raises awareness of the many effective ways to quit for good. Click here for more info on the Smokeout. Click here to read the MMWR report highlighting the event and national tobacco prevalence data.
New NYC DOHMH Report on Smoking Shows Who’s Quitting, and Who’s Not (8/21/07) - Quitting smoking is not easy, but thousands of New Yorkers succeed at it every year. Who’s trying to kick the habit, and who’s succeeding? In a new report titled 'Who’s Still Smoking', the NYC Health Department sheds light on both questions. The report, based on a large survey of New York City adults, shows that two thirds of the city’s smokers – almost 800,000 adults – tried to quit in the past year, but only 17% of those succeeded. Click here to read the full report.
New York City Smoking Rate Has Declined Almost 20% Since 2002 (6/21/07) - In 2006, NYC's adult smoking prevalence rate was 17.5% which is down from 21.6% in 2002. The Bronx, which experienced the steepest decline in smoking among the 5 boroughs, has a prevalence rate of 19.0%. Click here to view the press release. Click here to read the full MMWR report.
|
