MEDIA ADVISORY: RPCI Researcher, Local Teen Available to Discuss Surgeon General’s Report on Tobacco Use Among Youth

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Annie Deck-Miller, Senior Media Relations Manager
716-845-8593; annie.deck-miller@roswellpark.org

Thursday, March 8, 2012

WHAT: U.S. Surgeon General’s Report “Preventing Tobacco Use among Youth and Young Adults,” released today, calls on the nation to make the next generation tobacco-free.

A young person from the Amherst Youth Board and a Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) faculty member will provide local information regarding tobacco retail advertising and discuss its impact on children  

WHO: Maansi Bansal-Travers, PhD, Behavioral Research Scientist at RPCI

Marc Cohen, Amherst Youth Board member and Senior at Williamsville East High School

WHEN: Thursday, March 8 and Friday, March 9

To schedule an appointment, call 845-4919 or email deborah.pettibone@roswellpark.org

BACKGROUND:

Surgeon General Report: Key Messages:

  • Smoking kills more than 1,200 Americans every day. And every tobacco-related death is replaced by two new smokers under the age of 25.
  • More than a million dollars an hour is spent to market tobacco products in this country.
  • Rates of decline for cigarette smoking have slowed in the last decade and rates of decline for smokeless tobacco use have stalled completely

Roswell Park Research

  • Tobacco retail outlets are more densely concentrated in low income census tracts than high income census tracts
  • 64.4% of all City of Buffalo schools have a tobacco retail outlet within 1,000 feet. 

The full report is available at: www.surgeongeneral.gov and www.cdc.gov/tobacco

The mission of Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) is to understand, prevent and cure cancer. RPCI, founded in 1898, was one of the first cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and remains the only facility with this designation in Upstate New York. The Institute is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation’s leading cancer centers; maintains affiliate sites; and is a partner in national and international collaborative programs. For more information, visit RPCI’s website, call 1-877-ASK-RPCI (1-877-275-7724) or email askrpci@roswellpark.org.