On May 19, teen leaders from Tobacco Free Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming Counties (TF-GOW) and Tobacco-Free Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany (TF-CCA) Reality Check programs joined other youth from around New York State, as well as New Hampshire and Delaware, to call on Big Tobacco to voluntarily remove all flavors, in all their products, for all … Continued 
Tina Wolcott doesn’t want her horses inhaling secondhand smoke. She also wants safety for her family, employees, volunteers, visitors and other trusted furbabies who roam both her Wyoming County farm and barn. That’s why she contacted Tobacco-Free Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties (TF-GOW) recently and declared her stable and surrounding properties a tobacco free zone. … Continued 
A virtual movie event on “42,” The Jackie Robinson Story, spurred a lively Instagram Live discussion on multiple tobacco issues affecting our community and nation. On February 25, Reality Check youth from Western New York joined 100+ youth and community members from across the state to honor #BlackHistoryMonth. After watching the 42, they discussed how … Continued 
Reality Check of Western New York announced winners of this year’s student art contest in honor of the Great American Smokeout (GASO) 2020. More than 30 students expressed their feelings about Big Tobacco and how tobacco and vape use impacts their community. Warsaw High School student artist Payton Howe was named the first-place winner in the … Continued 
We can’t move into 2020 without a look back on 2019. In this post, we share the comprehensive perspective of our acclaimed leader, Dr. Andrew Hyland. As head of the tobacco control programs at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Director of the New York State Smokers’ Quitline, and researcher who has spent 25 years working … Continued 
With Christmas exactly one week away, we take you back to a time when Santa was a pitch man for Big Tobacco. Once upon a time, cigarettes were a Christmas present favorite – the gift that kept on giving (cancer). While kids were busy unwrapping their dolls and toy cars, dad was opening his carton … Continued 
Reality Check groups of Western New York recently came together at Beaver Hollow in honor of World No Tobacco Day on May 31. On the youth summit agenda were three days of ice breaking, team building, and s’more eating, just to name a few of the highlights. Group activities and workshops prepared youth advocates to … Continued 
120 teen leaders from New York State took on Altria Group executives and shareholders on May 16th. Their actions, centered outside the Richmond Convention Center, Richmond, Virginia, and areas nearby, focused on why the tobacco giant baited consumers and public health officials with the promise of withdrawing pod-based nicotine products from the market in order … Continued 
The stars made quite a scene on Oscar’s red carpet this year. Community health partners and Reality Check youth leaders from across Western New York upstaged them with a fashionable statement of their own: let’s get the smoking scenes of the screen. Here’s a photo gallery of our communities commemorating International Week of Action, an annual … Continued 
Reality Check managers Jonathan Chaffee and Brittany Bozzer took youth leaders from their regions to the state Capitol this week. Their mission: to talk with lawmakers about the success of the work they’ve done in their communities to lower the smoking rate. They also told state leaders about the challenges they face in trying to reduce … Continued 
