Seductive cigarette ads are target of Curtis, Tottenville teens

By Staten Island Advance Staten Island Advance

Students from Tottenville and Curtis high schools team up for a tour of the St. George commercial corridor to demonstrate the insidious impact of tobacco advertisements. (Staten Island Advance/Katelynn Rusnock)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Students of Curtis and Tottenville high Schools yesterday encouraged elected officials to take a walk in their shoes to see how easily children and teenagers can be influenced by advertisements for tobacco companies.

The group of students led a tour, beginning at Curtis and continuing through the streets of St. George, to point out advertisements for tobacco companies that are posted on the fronts of many stores located within blocks of the school.

The "Take a Walk in Our Shoes" tour was sponsored by the American Lung Association, the Staten Island Smoke-Free Initiative and Reality Check, a program sponsored by the JCC.

The students' shirts read, "The More Tobacco Advertising I See The More Likely I Am To Smoke." Staten Island Advance/Katelynn Rusnock)

Students wore red shirts with the legend "The More Tobacco Advertising I See, The More Likely I Am To Smoke."

The tour group passed 17 tobacco advertisements and five stores selling tobacco products, stopping at each one to share facts about how advertisements for tobacco companies are perceived by youth.

The student leaders described how minors are twice as likely as adults to remember retail advertising.

The students who participated in the tour were passionate about their cause; many even shouted, "Don't smoke! It's bad for you," to classmates they passed, some of whom had cigarettes in their hands.

Carissa Mazzeo, 16, a junior at Tottenville and student president of Reality Check, commented on how the message of the tour was personal for her. "Both my parents are smokers and I want kids to know it's not okay to smoke," she said.

Following the tour, the group heard a series of speakers at Borough Hall, including James Pistilli, borough organizer of the Staten Island Smoke-Free Partnership and SI Quits Chairman, who thanked them on behalf of Borough President James Molinaro.

After the event, Pistilli said: "I have tremendous respect for the youth. It was very impressive to see their leadership skills."

Lisa Spitzner, project coordinator for the New York branch of The American Lung Association pronounced the day a success. "I think it went great. We really had a great turnout today," she said, "We hope that today's tour will further influence decision makers."

Although unable to attend due to health reasons, Assemblyman Lou Tobacco released a statement agreeing with the students' point. "This is a serious problem on Staten Island and I am not willing to gamble with our children's lives for the sake of a few ad sales.

The city Health Department reports that "18,000 public high school students living in New York City currently smoke cigarettes." The students involved in yesterdays tour are hoping to change that statistic.

Source: http://www.silive.com