The NYCDOH announced that there are nearly 200,000 fewer smokers in NYC since 2002 when the city launched a comprehensive tobacco control plan. They also stated that exposure to secondhand smoke in homes has dropped by more than one-third. Secondhand smoke has been associated with nearly all the bad things that happen to smokers (such as lung disease and heart disease), Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and deaths from asthma exacerbations. They boldly claim that "at least 60,000 early deaths will be prevented." Unfortunately, the Free Nicotine Patch Program ended on June 9th but was quite successful handing out 45,000 courses in 40 days.
As you can see, the NYCDOH's tobacco control plan is an all encompassing initiative to eliminate smoking in this lovely nearly smoke-free culture here in NYC. And the DOH makes no bones about taxing the cancer sticks out of reach of even the wealthiest members of society -- taxation is the first of the City's five point tobacco control plan. So keep up the good work NYCDOH! Up next on the agenda...taxing Twinkie's, Magnolia's, and Mountain Dew.
But if you are still slowly killing yourself with the old tobaccy, please call 311 or visit the NYCDOHMH's website for more information about how to quit. Or you could just say I quit. The human mind is pretty powerful.
