Engage in ongoing efforts to build and maintain an adequate Reality Check Program in Cortland County. Reality Check is a youth led movement in New York State that empowers youth to become leaders in their communities in exposing what they see as the manipulative and deceptive marketing tactics of the tobacco industry. Reality Check is for youth ages 13-18 who want to engage peers, local leaders, businesses and community members to expose the truth about the tobacco industry. Reality Check efforts are evidence-based, policy-driven, and use cost-effective approaches that decrease youth tobacco use, protect youth from exposure to tobacco marketing and imagery and eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke. 

Expand Implementation of the Too Good for Drugs program in schools and promote referrals to the Teen Intervene Program for vaping behaviors. Too Good for Drugs is a comprehensive family of evidence-based substance use prevention interventions designed to mitigate the risk factors linked to problem behaviors and build protection within the child to resist problem behaviors. Teen Intervene is an evidence based, individualized, three session program, designed for youth 12-19 years old who are experiencing mild to moderate problems with alcohol or drug use. The program helps teens identify how drugs impact their lives and helps promote healthy behaviors. 

Conduct compliance inspections of tobacco vendors under Public Health Law 13-F (ATUPA-Adolescent Tobacco Use Prevention Act Program) to determine if vendors are selling tobacco/vapor products to underage youth, selling flavored vapor products including menthol, and/or discounting tobacco/vapor products. 

Implement a social norming campaign targeting Cortland County youth ages 13 to 18 years old correcting misperceptions about peer vaping (collaborate with LGBTQ+ organizations and individuals to reach high risk populations). 

Create an environment that demands policy change to restrict the density of tobacco retailers, keeps prices of tobacco high, and prohibits sale of flavored products including menthol through educational messaging about the dangers of menthol, earned media, and engagement with influential community members and organizations. Collaborate with LGBTQ+ organizations and individuals to reach high risk population.

Create an environment that demands policy change to reduce or eliminate tobacco use in outdoor areas and de-normalizes tobacco use through engagement with community members, employers, businesses and educational messaging about tobacco free outdoor environments.

Create an environment that promotes smoke-free multi-unit housing through educational messaging about smoke free housing, earned media, and engagement with community organizations, tenants, and housing managers. 

Promote Employee Assistance Program and Health Insurance coverage to encourage Cortland County and Guthrie employees to access counseling and evidenced based cessation resources, implement required employee trainings at Family & Children’s Counseling Services related to tobacco cessation. 

Implement the Standard of Care Model for Nicotine and Tobacco treatment through participation agreements with CNY Regional Center for Tobacco Health Systems at St. Joseph's Health at Cortland County Mental Health Department and Family & Children’s Counseling Services. Continued development, improvement, and implementation of workflows at Guthrie Cortland Medical Center and Family Health Network involving screening patients for tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure, promoting tobacco cessation referral to in-house specialists.

Use data driven social marketing campaigns and media engagement to promote the treatment of tobacco dependence by targeting smokers to encourage evidence-based quit attempts, increase awareness of available cessation benefits (especially Medicaid), and to encourage health care provider involvement with additional assistance from the NYS Smokers' Quitline.