Letters to the Editor Matter!

Let the community know that YOU are Mad About Ads.

Newspaper editorial pages are still one of the leading community forums for the exchange of ideas and information. In addition, local papers notice when an issue is of concern to their readership and often pursue related stories, creating even further opportunities for community education, action and change.

You can help us to keep the message that tobacco advertising in stores increases the odds that young people will smoke at the forefront of public consciousness. Did you know that in the Capital District. . .

• Even though retail stores average 5 exterior and 21 interior tobacco ads, only about 55% of adults notice them.
  
  
• Although 68% of adults support reducing outdoor tobacco advertising in retail stores within 3 blocks of schools, playgrounds and daycares; and 52% support reducing indoor ads within the same vicinities; fewer than 50% support reducing tobacco advertising in general.
  

The social unacceptability of tobacco use and awareness of the tobacco industry's deceptive practices have increased dramatically over the past 20 years, but we have a long way to go.

What do I write in a letter?

There’s nothing like the power of a personal story. YOUR story. What makes you care about this issue? Here are some examples of how a personal story, combined with a call to action, can carry a strong message to the community. . .

#1 To the Editor:
I couldn’t help but notice the GetMadAboutAds.org billboards placed all over the Capital District. The main message is that tobacco ads in stores increase the odds that your child will smoke. As a parent of three and a former smoker, THAT caught my attention.

After I became pregnant with my first child and had been smoking for 16 years (since I was 12), I knew I had to quit. It was, by far, the most difficult thing I had ever done. And back then, no one was offering me free NRT. It was cold turkey all the way.

Now that my oldest daughter is entering her teens, I’m scared for her. I’d like to think that my example is enough to keep her safe from the harms of cigarettes, but I’m now reminded that there’s an entire industry dedicating billions of dollars to hook her in the way that they hooked me.

I found a lot of good information at SmokeFreeCapital.org about what I could to do make a difference. I plan to fight back and hope other parents will join me to protect all our kids. Let’s not just Get Mad About Ads, let’s all do something about it.

Jane Gonnafightback, Anyville, NY
518-555-5555

#2 To the Editor:
I guess I’m naive. Joe Camel is dead and has been for more than 10 years. So I guess I thought the tobacco companies had cleaned up their act and were no longer marketing to kids --- my kids. But it seems I was wrong.

I’ve been seeing the GetMadAboutAds.org billboards all over the region and wondering what all the fuss was about. So, I went to GetMadAboutAds.org and kept going. . .to SmokeFreeCapital.org. . .to TobaccoFreeKids.org.  And I kept getting madder and madder.

Surprise! Tobacco marketing to youth is alive and well in New York and beyond. And right here in our neighborhoods. I’ve begun to pay attention to the number of tobacco advertisements at each store I shop at and am amazed. How could I have missed them? Maybe because so many of them are positioned at my waist level? Oh wait! That would be at my 8-year old’s eye level!

Yeah, I’m mad. But I won’t stop there. I plan to use some of the suggestions on the websites I mentioned to do something about it. I hope others of you will get mad and do likewise.

John Nomoreads, Hamletville, NY
518-555-5555

Or maybe you’re just mad. . .

#3 To the Editor:
I’m tired of hearing about the legality of tobacco products and the industry’s “right” to market them. Sure, they’re legal. . .even though they’re responsible for 1 in 5 deaths in the U.S. every year. But why would we want to support an industry that a federal judge determined has suppressed and concealed scientific research for more than fifty years so that they could continue peddling their deadly and addictive product? Enough!

I can’t independently change the fact that cigarettes are legal. But I can do something on a local level to counter the efforts of the tobacco industry to undermine the health and wellbeing of my community --- particularly the young people who live here and are directly targeted.

A local campaign called GetMadAboutAds.org is working to get tobacco advertising out of stores as a way to undermine the tobacco industry’s efforts to attract young smokers. I support the campaign and I hope others will, too. Go to GetMadAboutAds.org and SmokeFreeCapital.org for more information on what YOU can do to make a difference.

Ann Wannadomore, Mytown, NY
518-555-5555

Your opportunity to let people know what YOU think!
And what YOU think matters.

What’s most important is that you write a letter and send it. In YOUR words. Reflecting YOUR thoughts, YOUR opinion, YOUR point of view. We would also appreciate your inclusion of SmokeFreeCapital.org as a reference point for readers to get more information on what they can do to help in this community-wide effort.

How do I submit my letter?
We’ve compiled a quick reference guide of the various ways in which you can submit a letter to the various daily and weekly newspapers in the Capital Region.  

Thank you for your support!