CVS/pharmacy has announced that starting October 1, 2014 they will no longer carry tobacco products.  The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and World Health Organization have both reported that Tobacco use is the leading risk factor for preventable death in the United States. This action by CVS/pharmacy has made a great stride in public health advocacy.

MARP is one of hundreds of other organizations and businesses that have formed a city-wide coalition, The Partnership for a Healthier New York, to help make “healthier living easier”. The Partnership’s borough-based coalitions work with communities to plan, complete, and evaluate environmental change projects which:

• Decrease smoking rates and exposure to secondhand smoke
• Provide more places and opportunities for people to be active
• Increase access to affordable fresh fruits and vegetables
• Decrease promotion of unhealthy foods and sugary drinks
• Increase awareness of the harms of underage and excessive alcohol use

The goal of the Partnership is for fewer New Yorkers to suffer from serious preventable diseases. This is an important action to making this goal a reality.