SHERBURNE – Sherburne-Earlville High School Senior Megan Rogers is taking an active role in the community by addressing the concerns of local tobacco advertising, recently earning her the 2012 Reality Check Youth Advocate of the Year Award for the Central New York Region.
Reality Check is a statewide youth program managed by the New York State Department of Health that educates youth on the deceptive marketing practices of the tobacco industry. While budget restraints led New York State officials to cut the program in Chenango County, it still exists in surrounding counties, including Madison, where Rogers has been active in Reality Check for the last two years.
In recognition of her dedication, participation, initiative and perseverance in Reality Check, Rogers was also selected as the spokesman on behalf of the organization, addressing legislators in Albany about the importance of state funding and the role Reality Check plays in the fight against tobacco use.
“The only way we are going to truly make a difference is to increase and expand on what we are doing,” Rogers told elected officials at the Legislative Office Building in Albany at a press conference last Friday. “There is much more work to do and we can’t afford to slow down.”
According James Mutabiilwa, coordinator of Tobacco Free Chenango, Rogers’ dedication to expose the marketing practices of the tobacco industry is an asset in enlightening youth of deceptive tobacco marketing – a role taken part by the organization in the absence of Reality Check.
Mutabiilwa is closely working with Rogers, making appearances in the health classes of several county school districts including Norwich, Oxford and Unadilla Valley. Their sights are set on addressing the Chenango County Board of Supervisors, encouraging board members to establish stricter regulations for tobacco use and marketing in the county, including a smoking ban on all parks and playgrounds countywide and stricter display regulations in local convenience stores.
“Rural areas are always hit the hardest by state budget cuts,” Mutabiilwa said, noting that 25 percent of adults in Chenango County are routine smokers when the state average is 17 percent. “We need the support of local supervisors to keep doing what we’re doing and make changes in the area,” he added.
While money spent on marketing by tobacco industries continues to increase and state aid in tobacco prevention decreases, Rogers shared her belief that a tobacco display ban, which would hide tobacco products from the view of children and other potential smokers in the county, would have an immense impact on the area.
“If kids aren’t constantly seeing it and it’s not a constant thing, it wouldn’t be as acceptable ... It’s really more about making a social change,” she asserted.
More information regarding the risks of tobacco use and tobacco marketing can be found on the Tobacco Free Chenango website, www.tobaccofreechenango.org.