By MATT LINDSEY

St. Lawrence County’s smoking rate has dropped from 25 to 19.2 percent since 2006, a 23.2 percent decrease, according to Advancing Tobacco Free Communities.

But efforts to change the way tobacco companies advertise to children in the county have been unsuccessful, ATFC says.

Although the number of smokers in the county is down overall, the rate of youth smokers in the county is slightly higher than the national average. According to Prevention Needs Assessment (PNA) result, the smoking rate of youth in St. Lawrence County is 8 percent. The national average is also 8 percent.

The overall rate has dropped from 25 percent in 2006 to 19.2 percent last year.

“This drop can be attributed to New York state tobacco control programming which has increased the number of policies restricting tobacco use in public areas, apartment buildings, and limited advertising in stores and the media,” said Elizabeth Billings, program assistant for Advancing Tobacco Free Communities St. Lawrence, Jefferson, and Lewis Counties.

The Clifton-Fine School Reality Check youth group planned a “chalk the walk” event at their school May 26, where they planned to write tobacco related statistics on the sidewalks to illustrates the devastating effects of tobacco, Billings said.

Also, a media campaign prepared by Pickney Hugo Group will be launching statewide, as well as in St. Lawrence County, on May 31 as part of World No Tobacco Day, she said.

“Unfortunately, there have been no changes (for tobacco advertising) in St. Lawrence County,” she said. However, there have been several changes throughout the state that we are hoping to replicate in St. Lawrence County. Our hope is that this campaign will be a great motivating tool for change in the county.”

For example, the city of Newburgh implemented a policy that limits the number of tobacco retailers near schools, she said.

“Implementing a policy like this in local towns would help to reduce the number of tobacco advertisements kids are exposed to,” Billings said.

She says tobacco companies are advertising in the lower sections of doors, at the eye level of children and that they place similarly colored advertisements next to candy and soda advertisements that subliminally link the products together.

Additionally, she says tobacco companies create a 'power-wall' of tobacco products directly behind the register where coupons and discounts are visible, making tobacco products more available to price sensitive populations like youth.

There will be radio PSAs, print ads, digital campaigns and videos on various media platforms throughout St. Lawrence County promoting the SeenEnoughTobacco campaign.

Social media sites will also be used to reach a wider audience - such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, she said.

Adults can visit seenenoughtobacco.org to sign the petition, in an effort to limit tobacco advertising in stores.

“Adults can also write letters to the editor urging convenience stores to cover their tobacco products because we know that the more tobacco advertising kids see in stores, the more likely they are to smoke,” Billings said.

She is also encouraging community leaders to contact them at 315-713-4861 or cnatfc@svpc.net if they would like to take a bigger role in tobacco control efforts in the county.

“Every day in New York State, the tobacco industry spends more than half a million dollars to market its products in places where children can see them using bright, bold colors and large signs,” Billings said. “It’s our responsibility as a community to protect our children from tobacco marketing and put an end to this pediatric epidemic.”