This post was sponsored by Tobacco Free New York State as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.
Did you know that the average age of a new smoker in New York State is 13 years old?! As a mom of a 13-year-old, this alarms me! As much as we’d like to think that they don’t have access, teens are being exposed to and finding access to tobacco products. My daughter has told me stories of older middle school students found smoking e-cigarettes. And the e-cigarette use in high school students grew 160% in just four years from 2014 – 2018.
It’s not just our teens that are being exposed to tobacco products. Tobacco companies spend billions of dollars in advertising, much of which is found in-store. You may not realize it, but when you stop at the local convenience store with your kids to pick up some groceries, they see the colorful signs and boxes of cigarettes behind the counter. Tobacco Free New York is working to protect our kids from being visually exposed to tobacco products. The simple campaign aims to gather support to move tobacco and tobacco marketing out of view of kids. As a parent of a tween and teen, this is something that I am on board with.
As readers of the blog you know that my family enjoys the great outdoors. We often spend our weekends eating, traveling and enjoying new experiences and adventures. It is important to me that my children are active and healthy and I ensure that they have healthy diets and get adequate sleep. They know the harmful effects that smoking can have on their health and have often questioned why people would knowingly harm themselves. While they are both anti-smoking and probably low-risk, it doesn’t help to see cigarettes and other tobacco products while we are shopping at the store.
As parents, we can do something to protect all our children from being exposed to tobacco products in stores. You can take action by simply pledging your support at the”Seen Enough Tobacco” site. Every pledge counts! Help make New York a healthier place to live, work and play!
