John L.

Miller – Great Neck

North High School
Contact: Alexandra Bellini: 516-441-0000 or Abellini@greatneck.k12.ny.us

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GNN SWAT: Students Combat Tobacco Use in Their Schools

Free event for students and community members ready to kick the habit

(Great Neck, New York, March 31, 2021) - The Great Neck North School District is offering
students and residents an event to educate smokers and non-smokers on the dangers associated
with smoking and tobacco use and to encourage smokers to quit. The event will take place May
26th @ 7:00. Attendance can be in person or virtually via Zoom. This event will feature
individuals and their real stories of suffering the health consequences of tobacco use. The goal is
to motivate students and others to quit smoking and prevent students and others from ever using
tobacco products. In order to promote this free event the GNN School District is launching a
community wide media campaign.

Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States killing more than
480,000 Americans each year. The majority of smokers who smoke everyday (82%) started
smoking before they were 18, and more than 3,000 young people start smoking every day(CDC).
It is our job as a school community to help prevent these alarming numbers from rising even
further, we must find effective ways to prevent this growing trend.

“We hope that this campaign effort will motivate students and community members to make a
plan to quit smoking and a conscious decision to never start smoking” said Mrs. Carpenter,
Health Chairperson at GNN. “Smoking harms the organs in the body and greatly increases the
risk of more severe and life threatening illnesses. In addition to the dangers it causes to the lives
of individuals, tobacco use also has a significant impact on the nation’s economy. Smoking costs
more than $300 million yearly, including $170 billion in necessary medical care and another
$156 billion in loss of job productivity”

Setting a goal is more achievable with support. Quit Coaches help make this healthy decision
possible along with tobacco treatment counseling, on line support and support of family and
friends. According to the Surgeon General “We have made progress in reducing tobacco use
among youth; however, far too many young people are still using tobacco. Today, more than
600,000 middle school students and 3 million high school students smoke cigarettes. Rates of

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decline for cigarette smoking have slowed in the last decade and rates of decline for smokeless
tobacco use have stalled completely”.

To attend this meeting, individuals must be over the age of 18, students under the age of 18 must
be accompanied by an adult.

About Great Neck Public Schools - The Great Neck Public School District provides an
innovative and collaborative educational environment that supports academic excellence and the
social and emotional growth of all students so that they may become life-long learners and
compassionate, productive members of a diverse, global society.

For more information about the GNN SWAT event contact Alexandra Bellini @516-441-0000
or visit the school’s website at https://www.greatneck.k12.ny.us/GNNSWATEVENT

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