The rate of New Yorkers smoking cigarettes is at a record low. Less than one in 10 adults reported they smoked for the first time since the state started to keep track.
In the year 2000, one in four New Yorkers smoked.
Now anti-smoking advocates are warning that federal cuts could undermine efforts to help those of you who want to quit.
Federal health officials say efforts to reduce tobacco use are being streamlined not eliminated all together.
“This is reason to celebrate as cigarette smoking is a leading cause of preventable death and disease in our state,” said Jeanie Orr, director of Capital District Tobacco-Free Communities. “Unfortunately, there is real concern that the progress made over the past quarter century will be more difficult to sustain because of federal program and funding cuts.”