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Mayor Bill de Blasio pledged his support on Wednesday to a series of initiatives to cut tobacco use, proposing to raise the minimum price of a pack of cigarettes in New York City to $13 and vowing to sharply reduce, over time, the number of stores that may sell tobacco products.

Raising the minimum price of a pack to $13, from the current $10.50 minimum, would make New York the most expensive place in the nation to buy cigarettes, city officials said.

The goal, Mr. de Blasio said, is to persuade or coerce 160,000 of the 900,000 New York City residents who smoke to stop doing so by 2020.

In pushing the anti-tobacco measures, the mayor, more than three years into his term, has come to embrace a major public health movement that was closely associated with his predecessor, Michael R. Bloomberg, who made the city a leader in efforts to reduce tobacco use.

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The Surgeon General collaborated with YouTube personalities Rhett & Link to help raise awareness among youth and young adults about how e-cigarettes can affect their health. The first segment includes an animated video that highlights the “Amazingly Amazing Science” behind nicotine and the growing brain, and will be featured on Rhett & Link’s main show, Good Mythical Morning, which has more than 12 million subscribers.  Watch now and share. (Amazingly Amazing Science segment starts at the 11-minute mark.) The Surgeon General was also invited to talk with Rhett & Link about the animation and to share the facts about e-cigarettes and young people on their companion show, Good Mythical MORE.  Watch now and share....

Southwest Fair Housing Council (SWFHC) received a Health Leadership Award at the 8^th Annual Health Leadership Award Ceremony from Arizonans Concerned about Smoking (ACAS).  ACAS promotes healthy, smoke free living. SWFHC has worked in partnership with ACAS and Arizona Smoke Free Living for the past two years, providing the Fair Housing perspective to smoke free living programs and campaigns. ACAS has also worked diligently with individuals suffering from respiratory illnesses and conditions, educating them about their rights to reasonable accommodations in housing as people with disabilities. Individuals with these conditions have the right to ask for such second-hand smoke-related reasonable accommodations as: transferring units; transferring between sister properties to a property that is smoke free; and breaking a lease early without paying the penalty fees. Other recipients of the 8^th Annual Health Leadership Award include Maricopa County Department of Public Health, American Legion Post 62, Northern Arizona University, US Food and Drug Administration, Yavapai Anti-Tobacco Coalition of Youth (YATCY), Anza Train Student Wellness Advocacy Team, Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 9400, Denise Holliday, and The US Commissioned Officers Assoc of US Public Health Service. Southwest Fair Housing council is honored for the recognition. We will continue to work and partner with fellow public health advocates to positively impact the health of our community members.                      Kai McKinstry, Education and Outreach Specialist accepting for SWFHC            ...

Indigo Lofts in Mesa, a Centurion Property Management community, has adopted a silver level smoke-free policy! Smoking (including electronic smoking devices) will not be allowed property-wide, apart from a designated smoking area. Congratulations!

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