Tobacco Free Nassau's mission is to mobilize community partners to establish long-lasting system and policy changes that promote tobacco-free social norms.

 

Tobacco Free Nassau's goals are:

1. Prevent use of tobacco products among youth,

2. Encourage and support tobacco cessation,

3. Eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke exposure, and

4. Decrease the number of deaths related to tobacco use.

America’s rural population is one group that is more heavily impacted by tobacco use. People living in rural communities are more likely to use tobacco and they have especially high rates of smokeless tobacco use. Rural youth are more likely to be surrounded by role models who are tobacco users. Tobacco use is deeply rooted in the social environment in many rural communities, not only harming the health and well-being of the current generation, but also perpetuating a cycle that threatens future generations.

Not only do tobacco products devastate the human body, they cause havoc on the environment–ending up in our waterways, along beaches and in our parks. Cigarette butts account for an extraordinary amount of waste. An estimated 1.69 billion pounds, or 845,000 tons, of cigarette butts accumulate as litter in lakes, in oceans, on beaches and on the rest of the planet annually. Only 10 percent of cigarette butts are properly deposited in ash receptacles. In fact, cigarettes and cigarette butts are the most littered item in the world. Tobacco Free Nassau and SWAT members volunteer to clean-up local beaches and parks to bring awareness to the environmental impact of tobacco product litter. By educating community members about secondhand smoke and environmental issues of tobacco, we hope that more tobacco users will reconsider using tobacco in parks, playgrounds and beaches.