Reality Check Info

Some News

2009-02-27T13:40:00.000-05:00

Philip Morris Readies
Aggressive Global Push

Division Spinoff Enables
Blitz of New Products;
High-Tar Smokes in Asia

By VANESSA O'CONNELL
January 29, 2008

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- Sitting in his office overlooking Lake Geneva, Philip Morris International Chief Executive André Calantzopoulos takes a long drag from an unusually short cigarette. Called Marlboro Intense, the product has been shrunk down by about a half inch, and offers smokers seven potent puffs apiece, versus the average of eight or so milder draws.

The idea behind Intense is to appeal to customers who, due to indoor smoking bans, want to dash outside for a quick nicotine hit but don't always finish a full-size cigarette. Pointing to his lit Intense, the CEO says there are "possibly 50 markets that are interested in deploying it."

Marlboro Intense is likely to be part of an aggressive blitz of new smoking products PMI will roll out around the globe once the company -- now a unit of New York-based Altria Group Inc. -- becomes a standalone entity. That change will be set into motion tomorrow, when the Altria board is expected to approve a long-awaited decision to split PMI from Philip Morris USA. The move would free the tobacco giant's international operations of legal and public-relations headaches in the U.S. that have hindered its growth.

The separate entity, for example, would be exempt from U.S. tobacco regulations and out of reach of American litigators. Importantly, its practices would no longer be constrained by American public opinion, paving the way for broad product experimentation.

By as early as March, PMI could be operating as an independent company -- the third most profitable consumer goods concern in the world after Procter & Gamble Co. and Nestlé SA. The move will make it easier for the tobacco behemoth to market an array of new smoking concepts, each targeted to different foreign populations, who, collectively are expected to smoke 5.2 trillion cigarettes this year.

Among the new products in test phase is a hand-held electronic smoking device called the Heatbar, which emits less smoke than a regular cigarette. Another is Marlboro Wides -- an extra-thick cigarette whose package flips open from one side. To appeal to customers in some emerging markets, the company is making sweet-smelling cigarettes that contain tobacco, cloves and flavoring -- with twice the tar and nicotine levels of a conventional U.S. cigarette.

While smoking rates in developed countries have slowly declined, they have shot up dramatically in some developing counties, where PMI is a major player. These include Pakistan (up 42% since 2001), Ukraine (up 36%) and Argentina (up 18%).

Some antitobacco types are sounding alarm bells that an independent PMI will be a corporation which, from a practical viewpoint, is stateless and answers to no one. "There is a fear that after the spinoff, PMI will become even less accountable than it is today," says Richard Daynard, a professor of law at Northeastern University, who worked as a consultant on class actions against tobacco companies.

Mr. Calantzopoulos, 51 years old, says such concerns are a "misconception." He notes that regulatory regimes in Europe, for instance, are harsher than in the U.S., where the most severe restrictions were created in a late 1990s settlement of antitobacco lawsuits by the states.

The World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, an international public-health treaty, has 152 participating countries, including China, Brazil and Pakistan. While it has led to greater regulation in many of the world's markets, countries such as Indonesia and Russia haven't signed on.

Given the fast-changing legislative climate around the globe, "manufacturers are needing to spot potential first, act rapidly on a national level rather than on a regional level," says Zora Milenkovic, head tobacco analyst for the research firm Euromonitor International.

Moving Headquarters

Mr. Calantzopoulos, a former automotive engineer and PMI's CEO for the past six years, will become president of PMI, reporting to Louis Camilleri, the current chief of Altria. Mr. Camilleri will depart Altria and relocate to Switzerland to run the independent, publicly-traded international tobacco business. Altria, which plans to move its headquarters to Richmond, Va., will consist of the company's domestic tobacco businesses and a 28.6% stake in United Kingdom-based brewer SABMiller.

PMI stands to rank as the world's largest nongovernment tobacco company, with sales volume totaling more than four times that of its U.S. sibling. In 2006, PMI had revenue of $48.26 billion, compared with $18.47 billion at Philip Morris USA.

Mr. Camilleri has argued that the breakup will lead to a "renewed" focus at PMI. Ahead of the restructuring, Mr. Calantzopoulos has simplified PMI's decision making to quicken the introduction of new products. Local managers have the "power to decide" which new ideas might have legs in a particular region, he says.

PMI is also streamlining manufacturing. By this fall, it will halt imports of about 57 billion cigarettes annually from its U.S. sister company. Instead, it will begin to get its entire supply internationally, primarily from its own 42 manufacturing centers, the largest of which are in Holland, Russia, Germany, Turkey and Ukraine.

One of PMI's immediate goals is to harness the huge potential of China's smoking population, as well as some of that country's own brands.

After more than three years of negotiations with the Chinese government, PMI is expected this year to begin marketing three home-grown brands. The smokes -- selected from hundreds of varieties produced by state-run China National Tobacco Corp. -- will be sold in Central Europe, Eastern Europe and Latin America, according to PMI.

The launch is slated for sometime in the next six months. It is part of a December 2005 deal in which Philip Morris agreed to market Chinese brands internationally in exchange for the right to produce its own Marlboro brand at state-owned factories. At the moment, Philip Morris is limited to importing its cigarettes for sale in China and is restricted by stringent quotas.

China National Tobacco, based in Beijing, declined to comment.

With some 350 million smokers, China has 50 million more cigarette buyers than the U.S. has people, according to Euromonitor. Its booming tobacco industry, which the government says generates around $30 billion in tax revenue in 2005, is a pillar of the economy.

China and PMI, says Mr. Calantzopoulos, spent the past year figuring out which of China's top brands might have the greatest potential for sales abroad.

"The objective is not to sell Chinese brands to the Chinese immigrants. That's not difficult," says Mr. Calantzopoulos. "But what we want and they want is to adapt these products in a way that they become appealing" to foreigners.

Chinese smokers, for instance, prefer the stronger taste of full-tar cigarettes, while most Europeans and Latin Americans favor lower-tar cigarettes with blends of different tobacco leaves. Another concern: The packaging of Chinese brands tends to be "flashy," says Mr. Calantzopoulos.

One of the three brands to be sold abroad is called RGD and is manufactured by Wuhan Cigarette Factory of Wuhan city of Hubei province. It's a milder version of an existing Chinese brand called Red Gold Dragon. In preliminary marketing materials, China National Tobacco touted it as being "carefully formulated" with Chinese and non-Chinese tobacco leaves, "and flavored by fragrance extracted from the unique natural plants from Central China." PMI says the positioning has changed, but declines to be more specific.

Many of PMI's other new products are intended to strengthen and broaden the world's leading Marlboro brand, whose sales volumes outside the U.S. slid by 0.53% from 2001 to 2006. "It's in pretty good shape, but we can do much more with the brand," Mr. Calantzopoulos says.

High Nicotine, High Tar

Recent Marlboro launches include Marlboro Mix 9, a high-nicotine, high-tar cigarette introduced in Indonesia last July. PMI is poised to export the clove-infused Mix 9 to other Southeast Asian markets as soon as this year. Another iteration of the iconic brand, the Marlboro Filter Plus, is being sold in South Korea, Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. It touts a special filter comprised of carbon, cellulose acetate and tobacco that claims to lower the tar level while giving smokers a smoother taste. The short but strong Marlboro Intense, which the CEO lit up in his office, is newly available in Turkey.

A more unusual product, the Heatbar, has a different objective: preparing for the onslaught of smoking bans in some mature markets. But it's risky -- requiring consumers to embrace an odd-looking product that is as far from a Marlboro as a cigarette can be.

Heatbar smokers insert specially-designed cigarettes into the device, a plastic holder resembling an electric toothbrush. They place their lips on the cigarette but when they inhale, the device heats up the cigarette, delivering a flavored aerosol, without causing any tobacco to burn. PMI says Heatbar releases 90% less smoke into the atmosphere than a traditional cigarette. Smokers can either rent or buy the device, which is powered by a rechargeable battery.

The gadget's prospects are uncertain. Philip Morris USA struck out with a similar product in the late 1990s. Known as the Accord, it was pulled from U.S. store shelves after a test market run in Richmond, Va., failed to generate interest.

In late 2006 PMI opened an intimate wine and coffee bar, Heatbar Tasting Room, to drum up interest in its latest version. One night in late October, business at the Zurich lounge was so slow that nobody showed up over the course of an hour and a half. A lone employee, trained to teach customers the merits of Heatbar, blamed the chilly weather. But surrounding pubs and restaurants were packed with smokers.

PMI shuttered the bar last month, taking down its prominent displays of the device in a range of colors, and of packs of cigarettes that go with it. But late last year, PMI convinced two independent Zurich bars to carry the product. The idea, says a spokesman, is to test Heatbar in pubs and other places where smokers would naturally tend to gather. In December it took Heatbar to Australia, opening another PMI-owned store, New Movement Tobacconist, in Melbourne.

Mr. Calantzopoulos says the device is in the midst of an upgrade that's easier to use and provides a better taste.

Meanwhile, PMI has shown prototypes of the technology to regulators in Australia, New Zealand and the U.K., among other countries with tough antismoking policies. The idea, says Mr. Calantzopoulos is to engage them in early discussion about any future marketing restrictions on so-called reduced-risk cigarettes.

"It gives us some access to regulators," he says. "If you don't have a concrete product out in the market, it is very difficult for regulators to focus" on the issues.

Seeking Attention

At times PMI says it will also launch new products specifically to draw attention to paradoxical regulatory or tax policies.

Internationally, 62% of the average retail price of a cigarette is attributable to taxes, versus roughly 50% in the U.S., according to PMI data. But in certain countries in Europe and elsewhere, tax rates on roll-your-own tobacco products are one-third to one-half the rates on cigarettes, the CEO notes.

That explains PMI's launch of TBS ("Tobacco Block System") in Germany, where roll-your-own tobacco is taxed at significantly lower rates.

Smokers use the system -- which includes a foot-long machine and compressed blocks of tobacco -- to assemble their own cigarettes. After inserting empty paper sleeves into the side of the device, a dose of tobacco shoots inside the shell to create a cigarette.

PMI says it hopes the unusual tobacco kits can expand its market share so it can apply more pressure on the German government to close the disparity in tobacco tax rates.

Future products in the PMI pipeline will feature unusual packaging, a response to limits on cigarette advertising imposed by the WHO antitobacco treaty. Marketing restrictions are a particular challenge to PMI. Roughly half of its cigarettes, and all those bearing the Marlboro name, are so-called "premium" brands at the top end of the price spectrum in their local markets. That makes PMI highly vulnerable to competition from cheaper local smokes.

Without traditional advertising, "your product and your packaging become the key conveyor of what the brand stands for," Mr. Calantzopoulos says, noting that there's always an opportunity for gaining market share.

Fancier packs are intended to lure smokers into paying a premium for the company's brands. One example is the Marlboro Filter Plus, which Mr. Calantzopoulos thinks might work in as many as 50 additional markets. The top third of its pack slides straight up, and then backwards -- a sleek design similar to a cellphone.

"If I put in front of you two packs of cigarettes and asked you to choose, you will choose, based on some criteria," Mr. Calantzopoulos says, adding: "The whole idea" is to give smokers a reason to choose the PMI-made cigarette -- "not one made by somebody else."

Source

Thank you!

2009-02-27T13:38:00.002-05:00

Thank you everyone who came out to our Free Movie Event last night. It was great so see 166 community members interacting wth the teens at the RC table.

We will be sending the petitions to the MMPA to show how much support we have here in Rensselaer County in giving smoking an R-rating!!

Enjoy your weekend.

FREE MOVIE EVENT!

2009-02-04T14:43:00.003-05:00

FREE MOVIE EVENT!

Showing WALL-E

Thursday February 26th @ 6:45 pm.

Come learn about Reality Check and our Smoke Free Movies work and then watch a Free Showing of WALL-E (movie starts at 7pm).

To Reserve your seats call 272-4210

Lansingburgh Activity

2009-02-04T14:35:00.002-05:00

Reality Check recently presented to the Lansingburgh PTSA in regards to our Smoke Free Movie Resolution and our Periodicals Resolution. We are working on planning a movie event at Lansingburgh Middle/High School. We are hoping to hear that the PTSA decided to pass our resoultions.

Youth Summit Footage

2008-08-06T08:24:00.001-05:00

Press from our Summit

2008-07-08T19:57:00.001-05:00

SCHENECTADY -- Hundreds of teenagers descended on the Capital Region Thursday to protest tobacco advertising's impact on children and the frequency with which characters smoke in movies.

About 300 teens from across the state took over Schenectady's Veterans Park, Scotia's Freedom/Collins Park, Saratoga Springs' Congress Park and the Empire State Plaza to stage mock plays, chant cautionary statistics about the health dangers of smoking and gather signatures in hopes of stopping convenience stores from placing cigarette ads at children's eye levels.

For the statewide group called Reality Check, it was its largest coordinated effort since being formed from tobacco settlement money about eight years ago, said Sarah Jennette, a Reality Check trainer and SUNY Plattsburgh student.

"We wanted to do something really big," Jennette said.

Jennette was among about 60 people who staged their protest at Veterans Park Thursday afternoon. A group of teens stood on State Street, holding up signs, beating a drum and chanting messages such as, "every eight seconds, someone dies from a tobacco-related illness."

Others flanked the entrance of the Schenectady County Office Building, some wearing white hazmat outfits, holding up signs protesting smoking in movies.

Kathleen Herlihy, 16, of Geneseo, Livingston County, dressed as Brad Pitt and wore a mortar board around her neck to protest the star's alleged smoking habit and how it makes smoking look cool for kids.

Herlihy, who has been a member of Reality Check since eighth grade, said she likes the idea she's helping a cause. She also said she enjoys meeting other teens and getting to travel as the group did this week. All the teens are staying at Union College dorms during their visit.

Makayla Glover, 16, of Elmira, was part of a group staging a mock awards show that was giving golden coffins, instead of Oscars, to members of the Hollywood elite who encourage smoking in movies. In order to draw attention, Glover wore a red wig and a blue polka-dot dress as a costume.

Glover got involved in Reality Check as an eighth-grader after her mother, who works for Reality Check partner Cornell Cooperative Extension, encouraged her to do so.

"It's showing people that young people care about everyone's health," Glover said.

Teenagers from 13 to 18 are recruited to join Reality Check, often through school-based events. There is one adult Reality Check coordinator in each county, but many of the events are organized by older teens or previous high school leaders who have moved on to college. County chapters typically stage small protests in their own communities and appeal to municipal leaders to support different types of bans on smoking and tobacco advertising.

SUMMIT 08!

2008-06-25T08:22:00.001-05:00

Today we are leaving for the State Wide Youth Summit!

We are super excited... to start Street Teaming!

This summit is going to be action packed and we can't wait to get out there and start educating the public on the Truth behind big tobacco.

peace

GOOD NEWS!!!!

2008-06-13T11:21:00.003-05:00

Schagticoke Town Board Passed the Point of Purchase Municipality Resolution!

Thanks so much to Brittany and Casey who presented to the town board on Wednesday the 11th. They did a wonderful job. I know they were nervous going into the event, but no one in the room would have been able to tell.

Tonight Reality Check will be at the Relay For Life! We are getting really excited! We will have a tent, a team, food, fun, and we will also be handing out infomration for the Capital District Tobacco Free Coalition.

Check out information on the Relay For Life here.

The next big and up coming event will be the Youth Summit June 25th, 26th, and 27th. Can't wait to get out and work on our street teaming events!

peace

$1.25 Tax Increase

2008-06-03T15:46:00.004-05:00

The new sales tax went into effect today.

Many smokers in the state will be upset over this, but the evidence supports that a higher price of cigarettes will reduce the number of current smokers and prevent more than 37,000 smoking-caused deaths in New York. Increasing the price of cigarettes makes it more difficult for young people to start smoking, and that is good for New York Tax payers because the cost on all of us to pay for the health burden of smoking is $ 904 in state and federal taxes to cover smoking-caused medical expenses.

In this country citizens have a choice to smoke or not. If you choose to smoke on a daily basis this does have far reaching effects on all of us tax payers. If we can work to slowly reduce the amount of new smokers, in the future we are doing our community a service. Should we all continually pay for the cigarettes burden and sit silently by while the tobacco industry makes money on a product that is addictive... When a person looses their ability to stop smoking because they are addicted... the idea of freedom and choice get thrown out the window.

The media relishes in sensationalized news... so we are going to probably see some negative responses to the new tax.

check out the New York State's Tobacco Control site for more information.

And also the Capital District Tobacco Free Coalition.

And if you want to quit have you checked out the New York Quit Line?

Here is a positive story:

Anti-smoking advocates applaud NY's new cigarette tax

Have a great day!

Mid May update.

2008-05-21T13:03:00.006-05:00

We will be holding our celebration for the success of the battle of the bands on Thursday May 28th!!!

I have asked some teens to look around their neighborhoods and identify stores that have a lot of tobacco ads. I hope that we will be able to do a little work on the May 28th meeting, we could write letters to the stores in our own neighborhood...which is true grass routes action!

I contacted the town board of Schodack today, they said the board is holding on a decision weather or not to support our Retail Policy. We will have to wait and see what happens in the next couple of weeks. I think it would be great if we could start distributing the POP information we have to all the people we can to spread the word. But don't let their indecision get you down, it shows we have more educating to do here in Rensselaer County! We have another town board meeting to attend to, this time in Schghticoke on June 11th. Lets hope for the best!

I also placed a thank you add in the Independent identifying the diffrent organizations that have supported Reality Check's No Thanks Big Tobacco Policy.

I will try and place the same thank you add in the Capital Region Weekly the following week.

As far as big events coming, we have a training weekend for youth trainers at the Roaring Brook Ranch on May 30th through June 1st. It should be a lot of fun! This event is all about preparing the youth trainers to lead the youth summit which is taking place June 25th- 27th.

I will keep everyone updated with any new information when I get it.

Thanks!

peace

Tobacco Tax Increasse June 3rd!

2008-05-14T13:13:00.002-05:00

Here are some facts from the Center Of Tobacco Free New York

Tobacco Facts

Tobacco Impact on Health and Health Care Costs

Adult Smoking Rate, New York – 18.2% (2006 Behavioral Risk Factor Survey)

Number of Adult Smokers, New York – 2.8 million

Deaths caused by tobacco, New York 2006 – 25,500

New Yorkers alive with tobacco-caused illness – 570,000

Annual health care expenditures caused by tobacco, New York 2006 - $8.17 billion

Annual Medicaid expenditures caused by tobacco, New York 2006 - $5.4 billion

Annual tobacco-caused productivity losses from premature death, New York - $6.02 billion

Tobacco-caused health costs and productivity losses per pack of cigarettes sold - $21.91

Current average retail price of cigarettes - $5.82

Teenage Smoking

Middle School students who smoke, New York 2006 – 4.1%

High School students who smoke, New York 2006 – 16.3%

Kids under 18 who became regular smokers, New York 2006- 27,700

Youths ages 0 – 17 projected to die from smoking, New York – 389,000

Public Health Impact of $1.25 Cigarette Tax Increase

20% increase in price = 5% decrease in adult prevalence = 140,000 fewer adult smokers

140,000 fewer adult smokers = 37,200 fewer tobacco-caused deaths

20% increase in price = 13% decrease in youth prevalence = 9,000 fewer high school smokers

20% increase in price = 243,500 kids alive today who will not become smokers, saving 77,800 from tobacco-caused death

How do we know a tax increase will lead to decreased consumption? A paper, (“Cigarette Demand: A Meta-Analysis of Elasticities,” by Craig A. Gallet and John A. List, published in the Journal Health Economics, V. 12, p.821-835) examined 523 published estimates of cigarette price elasticity from the academic literature. It found a median adult short-run price elasticity of 0.40 (long-run elasticity was 0.44). This means that for every 10 percent increase in price, there is a 4 percent decrease in consumption. About half the decreased consumption is due to adult smokers quitting, and half due to smokers who continue smoking at a reduced rate.

Tobacco News

2008-05-14T13:06:00.003-05:00

More and more people are beginning to open their eyes! This has a lot to do with the efforts of teens and adults in New York State who are working hard to educate the community.

Look at this story that was in USA TODAY:

Retail Chains Starting To Put Out Smokes

By Wendy Koch, USA TODAY
Cigarettes are getting harder to find. More retail chains are dropping
them, and for the first time, officials in a few states want to ban
pharmacies from selling them.
This month, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom proposed an unprecedented
city ban on drugstores selling tobacco products, including cigars, pipes
and smokeless tobacco.
"This will be the beginning of a national movement," Newson predicts. He
says he's "absolutely confident" the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
will approve the ban
this month or early in June. It would take effect Oct. 1.
Others are on the same track. Bills are pending in New Hampshire, Illinois
and Tennessee to bar pharmacies with walk-in clinics from selling tobacco,
and a bill in New
York would apply to all pharmacies, including those in big stores such as
Wal-Mart.
"Pharmacies are places we go to get healthy," says Assemblyman Sam Hoyt,
author of the New York proposal. "It just seems inappropriate that on the
other hand, they
sell something that kills." His state borders Canada, where most provinces
don't let pharmacies sell tobacco.
Most independent pharmacies in the USA no longer sell tobacco, but the
drugstore market is dominated by big chains such as Walgreens, CVS and
Rite Aid that do. Target stopped selling tobacco products in 1996.
Bill Phelps, spokesman for Philip Morris USA, the nation's No. 1 cigarette
maker, says the government should not impose bans. "We think retailers
should be able to decide," he says.
More retailers are deciding not to sell tobacco products. A wave of
grocery stores, some with pharmacies and some without, have taken tobacco
off their shelves. Wegmans, which has 70 stores in five states, did so in
February, the same month as two smaller New York-based chains, Budwey's
and DeCicco Family Markets. San Francisco-based Andronico's also quit in
February, and some ShopRites followed in March.
"We're seeing a real trend in which fewer and fewer stores want to be
associated with the harm caused by cigarettes," says Matt Myers, president
of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. As fewer stores sell cigarettes, he
says, "the cultural norm becomes not smoking."
That doesn't necessarily happen, says Gary Nolan, national spokesman for
Citizens Freedom Alliance, a group that defends smokers rights and the
free market.
Smokers won't stop but will be driven to a black market run by smugglers,
he says.
Wegmans found cigarettes profitable and expected negative reaction from
customers when it dropped them, spokeswoman Jo Natale says. She says there
were a few complaints but far more support.

WOW!

2008-05-08T14:45:00.003-05:00

This blog has been neglected in the last five months! We have been so busy working out in the community that we have had little time to devote to the web. Finally we are happy to announce our new Website!! RealityCheckInfo.com We have worked the blog into the website and we are supper excited to begin using the site as a way to reach out to the community and to local RC members.

So much has been happening in the last few months.

We have had lots of opportunities to speak and educate people within the community.

As a result many local sports teams have been interested in joining with Reality Check by signing NO Thanks You Big Tobacco Policies. We have the C lassie Lassies, South Troy Pop Warner Football, Maple Hill Youth Lacross, and The ValleyCats all joining in to take a stand against big tobacco. We could not be happier to be working with these teams!

We will be focusing on Point Of Purchase education within Rensselaer County. Tobacco signs in our local stores do have a harmful effects on the youth. We would like store owners to consider Reducing, Rearranging, or Removing the tobacco ads in and outside their stores.

DID YOU KNOW:

According to an article on the Association of Retail Tobacco Marketing with Adolescent Smoking. in the American Journal of Public health that THREE OUT OF FOUR TEENS VISIT A CONVENIENCE STORE AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK, AND ONE IN FOUR MAKE DAILY VISITS TO CONVENIENCE STORES.

This is important when considering that the tobacco industry needs replacement smokers to stay in business. If tobacco companies aren't suppose to be advertising to teens yet have been investing large sums of money into retail advertisement they are able to find a large youth audience.

In New York alone, the tobacco industry spends and estimated $516 million annually on marketing its products! (U.S. Federal Trade Commission (2005). Cigarette Report for 2003., 2005. Washington, D.C., Federal Trade Commission).

You may be thinking well sure! Its a capitalistic society, companies NEED to advertise BUT consider the facts when we are discussing the Tobacco Industry:

They understand how to make money, they invest large sums of money into researching the market.

If studies show:

Kids are more than twice as likely as adults to recall tobacco advertising two weeks latter according to a national telephone survey conducted by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids.

The average age at which smokers try their first cigarette is 14 1/2. ( Preventing Tobacco Use Among Young People: A Report of the Surgeon General, US Dept. of Health and Human Services. 1994. )

Nearly 30% of youth ages 18-24 currently smoke New York State compared to the 18% of all adults. (RTI International. (2005). Independent Evaluation of New York’s Tobacco Control Program Final Report 2005. Research Triangle Park, NC: RTI International.)

Tobacco ads, which often make smoking look cool or glamorous are created to appeal to teens. In addition, tobacco advertisements are often placed low, at child's eye levle, or next to candy or toys. (Feighery, E.C., Ribisi, K.M., Schleicher, N., Lee, R.E., & Halvorson, S. (2001). Cigarette advertising and Promotional Strategies in Retail Outlets: Results of a Statewide Survey in California. Tobacco Control, 10, pp.184-188)

If the tobacco industry Really wanted to protect youth and teens from smoking, wouldn't they evaluate the studies and shift their in store marketing?

Do they need all those colorful signs??? Can't they just announce their sales in black and white? Should their sales reps be encouraging certain types of ad placement?? In fact the box of cigarettes themselves are an in store advertising attempt. DO THEY NEED all that pink, purple, blue? IN FACT do they need all those flavored tobacco products?

Reality Check is not supporting a reduction of freedom of speech... We value our amendments and rights.

We are asking store owners to consider the evidence on their own, and make a decision about the type of ads they will allow in their stores.

We don't want the government regulating everything, what you can and can not do in all aspects of your life... but we do want the TRUTH behind what motivates the tobacco industry to behave the way it has in the past and how it currently markets cigarettes.

We feel we must educate the community! Its really the only way! The tobacco industry has everything to gain if we don't, and the young people who are constantly finding themselves in an environment that promotes smoking is setting up a foundational mindset that favors a company who has been found to be unethical in their business practices (just read about the 1998 settlement agreement and the tobacco documents).

Point blank, they are not regulated on a cigarette's ingredients (hundreds of chemicals can be found in 1 single cigarette). They sell a nicotine delivery system (meaning they sell a drug, nicotine, is what daily smokers want...they are a drug company) that is DANGEROUS! If you use their product as it is intended, it will harm you and if you continue to use that product it could kill you! How long did it take for them to even admit their product was dangerous, how many conflicting studies did they support to confuse the public and put the doubt in the minds of consumers to hold off on making changes to their business?? CAN THEY BE TRUSTED?

So please if you are in a store, take a look around, and see the situation from a child's or a young teen's eye.

Help us get the information out there to all the local retailers; Tobacco marketing is something we should all be watching and evaluating when it comes to the future of our kids.

The toll of tobacco is a health epidemic in this county...in this VERY State where 25,000 deaths per year make it the leading cause of preventable death! (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2005). Tobacco Control Highlights, State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation (STATE) System [Online]. Retrieved March 1, 2006 from http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/statestystem/. )

Our tax dollars go to pay a growing health bill from the use of tobacco. We shouldn't just let things remain as they are, not if we can educate and change the present situation.

Thanks!

Movie Stomp!

2007-12-05T16:44:00.000-05:00

Finally we are having our movie stomp at Maple Hill Middle School.

We are meeting at 4:15 here at the Cornell Cooperative Building. I will be leaving here by 4:30 to drive up to Maple Hill Middle School.

Movie we are showing:: Hairspray (Rated PG, with lots of smoking)

Where Maple Hill Middle School

The movie stomp starts at 5:30 and it will go to about 7:30. We will serve popcorn, soda, pizza, and cider.

Our focus is to educate teens and parents on the impact smoking in movies has on teens and to ask them to support us in trying to get smoking an R rating in movies.

Hope you can make this evnet!!!

Victorian Stroll!

2007-12-05T16:43:00.000-05:00

We got over 100 signatures at the Victorian Stroll On December 2nd. Thanks everyone for coming out and helping! I hope you all had a chance to enjoy the wonderful things at the stroll in addition to working at the booth. I really appreciate the time you defecate to RC.

Next year we will work on getting in a diffrent location. As I think we would get more traffic if we were downstairs. Live and learn.

Thank you China for walking around with the petition and getting signatures!!

Hope to see many of you at the Movie Stomp!

October is almost over!

2007-10-30T09:24:00.001-05:00

Fright Fest was a success!! We got lots of signatures and made a lot of contacts with the park's guest. Every one who donated their time did a great job! Thanks for everything! I had a great time picking out decorations at Party City the week before and I enjoyed watching you all make the day happen!

Our next meeting will be November 1st at 6:30. We have lots of things to talk about and events that need to be planned. Hope to see you there!

peace

Reality Check October

2007-10-05T14:19:00.000-05:00

EDGE FEST was a success! We got a ton of signatures in support of including smoking in the movie rating system! We set up a guitar hero station at our booth, which really caught peoples attention. Thanks to all the Reality Check teen who volunteered their time.

We had to move the Reality Check Meeting that was scheduled on October 4th to Monday October 8th. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. I had a last minute scheduling conflict with my son's Boy Scouts meeting.

We will be meeting at I Love New York Pizza on Hoosick in Troy at 4pm.

Call me at 852-1413 if you would like a ride or have questions about this meeting.

I was told that someone stopped by for the meeting. I called everyone who I have on my roster, but for any new members who were interested in getting involved in the Reality Check, feel free to call me at any point as I want to accommodate everyone's schedule as much as possible. The more feed back I get from people the more productive this year in Reality Check will be.

I hope to add some pictures of Edgefest to our myspace soon.

check us out at www.myspace.com/realitycheckinfo

Hope to see you at our next meeting Monday October 8th at 4pm.

Don't forget that we will be at The Great Escape's Fright Fest October 13.

Whats been going on?

2007-09-12T15:52:00.000-05:00

FAIR WAS A SUCCESS!!

Thanks to all the Reality Check teens that came and volunteered! You are amazing!

Next meeting September 18th. The old Troy Health Building, downstairs.

More detaisl once the time can be confirmed.

EDGE FEST IS SATURDAY AUGUST 22nd. We are really excited about this event!

Updates

2007-08-15T09:54:00.001-05:00

Reality Check will be at the Schaghticoke Fair Near the Midway and the Grand Stand. Come visit us and play some Reality Check Trivia to win some free gear. We have a lot of cool activities planned. We are hiring a DJ for Midnight Madness on August 31st Friday. That is the wrist band night. If you plan on going to fair make sure you visit our booth!

Other important things:

Smoking In Movies:
Have you read about Disney's decision to take smoking out of its G and PG movies? Check it out here: http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN2535342320070725

Why is this important? Check out these two sites:

http://ncronline.org/NCR_Online/archives2/2004a/020604/020604a.php

http://smokefreemovies.ucsf.edu/problem/studio_surveys.html

Great Escape Day was a success! Thanks goes out to all the Reality Check Teens who volunteered their time.

Updates

2007-07-06T14:53:00.000-05:00

The Youth Summit was a success. I know I had a great time and the Reality Check Teens seemed to be enjoying themselves. The entire event was great and I feel like the teens really got energized for the coming year.

Some other updates:
Reality Check will be giving a presentation at Griswold Heights in Troy.

Rensselaer Reality Check in conjunction with Warren and Saratoga Counties will be putting on a Reality Check Challenge on July 24th from 205pm at the Adirondack Sports Complex in Queensbury. You can reregister by calling 272-4210, or you can just show up the day of the event. It’s FREE and full of inflatable fun activities. There will be a 60 foot obstacle course, jousting, and sumo wrestling arenas along with music and food. Come check it out!

We are also going to the Great Escape July 25th. Come visit Reality Check while having fun. We have promo gear and information to give out.

If you are interested in getting involved in Reality Check, you can call 272-4210.

June 1 Health Awarness Dance

2007-05-22T15:34:00.000-05:00

June 1 5:30-10pm Reality Check will be at the Troy Girls and Boys Club with Jamz 96.3. Learn about health awareness including HIV/Aids and Substance Abuse while having fun. Free Food, free music, free fun. There will be a Jamz 96.3 DJ and a dance troupe. Stop by the Reality Check table to get some information and free gifts. If you stop by the table you can be entered in the big prize drawing at the end. Don't miss out!! Listen to Jamz 96.3 for the commercial mentioning Reality Check. Hope to see you there.

First Post

2007-05-08T10:44:00.000-05:00

This blog was set up to keep the Rensselaer County Reality Check members and community informed on our events. Eventually we would like to use this blog to tie the Reality Check members together. Hopefully this blog can be a virtual meeting place for many Reality Check members in our county.

I should also introduce myself. My name is Patience, I am the new Reality Check Coordinator for Rensselaer County. I am excited to start working with the Reality Check members and helping spread the word. Some of my goals include:

Increasing the involvement of more teens in Rensselaer County
Working with the community in regards to reducing and eventually eliminating Tobacco, Advertising, Sponsorship and Promotions.
Working with local stores to reduce or eliminate their tobacco ad placements.
Educating the community on the impact that smoking in PG-13, PG, and G movies has on adolescents.

These are just a few things I want to focus on. This is my second week as the Coordinator, as I get more acquainted with my position I will fine tune some of these goals. Right now I am just trying to meet as many people as I can and develop relationships with my coworkers and the existing RealityCheck members. I look forward to the future.

:-)

Reality Check Info

Some News

Philip Morris Readies Aggressive Global Push

Thank you!

FREE MOVIE EVENT!

Lansingburgh Activity

Youth Summit Footage

Press from our Summit

SUMMIT 08!

GOOD NEWS!!!!

$1.25 Tax Increase

Mid May update.

Tobacco Tax Increasse June 3rd!

Tobacco Facts

Teenage Smoking

Public Health Impact of $1.25 Cigarette Tax Increase

Tobacco News

WOW!

Movie Stomp!

Victorian Stroll!

October is almost over!

Reality Check October

Whats been going on?

Updates

Updates

June 1 Health Awarness Dance

First Post

Philip Morris Readies
Aggressive Global Push